Final Fantasy: Demon of Wrath
by Tyger
Summary: Long after the terror known as Meteor, the heroes of that time merely legends. Gaia found a sister planet, Terra. The two lived in peace until war suddenly broke out. Gaia is losing with little hope of survival unless someone can stop the bloodshed.
1. Prologue

(I disclaim any names and abilities that belong to SquareEnix and Final Fantasy relations in the fic

(I disclaim any names and abilities that belong to SquareEnix and Final Fantasy relations in the fic.)

**FINAL FANTASY**

**BEASTS OF RUIN**

**Prologue**

_Two sister planets are at total war with eachother. The planet Gaia, a world of technology. The planet Terra, a world of magic._

_The two worlds are locked in a synonymous orbit around their single star. Only within the last couple of decades have the species of the two planets managed to meet._

_Both sides wanted to seek this opportunity for a peaceful and prosperous union and it seemed to go well for almost ten years, until both of their leaders were assassinated._

_Both sides blamed the other and neither admitted to the acts and so the first battle started within a single day and visitation between the two worlds was abolished, yet wars took place on eachothers land and in space frequently._

_The time is ten years after the beginning of this war and neither side has given in despite the mounting casualties as weapons and magic only grow more destructive and even more civilians are becoming victims by the month._

XXXXX

The wind blew gently yet swiftly over the plains of grass that seemed to resemble waves of the ocean as the sun slowly approached the horizon.

Someone stepped softly through the blades which reached just below his knees. He walked to the top of a hill that overlooked a small town.

It wasn't much to look at, but he had been walking for several days and this was the closest thing to civilization he had run across so he wasn't really picky at the moment.

He was a little above average build and size, his sea blue eyes seemed to stand out from his silhouette as the sun framed his body.

The wind blew his jet black hair which was cropped into short spikes, but seemed to alienate the long braided length of hair that reached far down his back which was now swaying with the wind.

After he surveyed the town from his position, he began to make his way down the hill. The wind picked up and blew his long black jacket wildly even though his hands were in the pockets, revealing the slight glimmer of something red at his belt.

The town was quiet, almost like it was deserted. The occasional movement of people was the only thing that showed otherwise.

When the man strode in the main street, which seemed to split the town in two, people noticed his appearance and either avoided him or murmured to eachother. He paid them no mind as he saw a place that looked like he could get some information, the local bar.

The place seemed to be lively as many who just got off work were enjoying their paycheck or were there to hassle the young waitresses for their amusement.

When the door opened and they noticed the stranger, the entire place just stopped. As if not noticing, the stranger walked straight to the bar and sat on a stool, propping his elbow on the wooden table to rest his head in his left hand.

"Beer." He calmly asked.

The people went back to chattering as usual as the barkeep brought a tall glass of the foaming golden drink to him, which he paid by placing a few coins next to it.

As the barkeep turned away, he was caught by the sound of more coins and turned to see the stranger with his hand over a pile worth more than ten glasses of what he just bought.

"You seem thirsty." The barkeep simply stated, yet couldn't avoid the money placed before him.

"I'm looking for a place to get an A-Class ship, do you by chance know where I can get one?"

"But thats a space cruiser, the only private ships capable of reaching outer space."

"I know, I've heard that since the war started, they have been either converted for the military or made incapable to break the atmosphere."

"Yes, so the chances of finding one are almost impossible."

"I see." The stranger was about to pull the money back when the man leaned forward.

"But if you speak with Ferris, he's the one where you can get the information you seek."

"Where can I find him?"

"He's in charge of the church at the East Side of town, just take this road and you can't miss it."

The stranger seemed to like the information and removed his hand from the money.

Just as the barkeep was about to take the coins, a fist slammed down next to the pile, causing coins to roll off the bar and hit the floor.

The barkeep jumped away in fright as the one who struck the bar was a very gruff looking man who was a little flushed from liquor. He was alone, but from the looks of it, he had a small group sitting back and watching the event with sinister looks.

"So you're new in town and it seems that you're looking for a very expensive ship. So you must have lots of money, mind sharing a little with us…huh?" He was confused as the stranger didn't even act like anything happened as he turned his head away and looked down at the floor, seeing the shattered glass of beer.

"You spilled my drink." Even though he never even took a sip from it.

The thug began to get a little angry.

"Listen here, we're part of the Hell Hounds, the worst gang in this region so you had better cough up the dough or you'll wish that you never even came to this place."

The stranger nonchalantly turned his head to look straight ahead, not even acknowledging the man's presence.

"So when you say you're the worst, you mean that you're the toughest, or that you just suck."

The thug instantly raged as he swung right at the stranger's face.

That's what the stranger wanted as he tilted his head forward, avoiding the blow, using his left hand to grab the thug's wrist, trusting his right arm to grab the thug's shirt. He twisted and locked the arm against his neck and with an amazing display of power, lifted the thug off the ground, swung him over the bar in a spinning motion to throw him right across the room as he smashed through the door, turning it into splinters on impact.

The thug's comrades immediately tossed away their chairs and everyone scattered from them.

"You'll wish you hadn't done that." Said one as he smashed a bottle, pointing its razor sharp edges at the man.

"Oh really." In what seemed like a flash, the stranger drew out twin swords from his belt.

The blades were black and double edged, two feet long to end a very sharp tip and each had a red jewel placed in the hilt. Despite their size, he stood at an assassin's stance, using the blades to cover his forearms, leaving only the last six inches of the blades in the air.

"Lets see what ya got?"

The group charged like a mob, using their numbers to gain the advantage.

The stranger only let out an unamused snicker as he leapt straight up as they plowed right through the area he just was. Twisting his body to have his feet plant on the ceiling

They didn't even have time to react as he pushed down and sliced the last two in the back, leaving a long red line of blood as he crouched from the attack.

The other two attacked even as their comrades fell, hoping to get the upperhand.

With a swift spin, he cut them both on their thighs, causing them to stubble past, which he finished them off with a double backhand to the back of their heads as he stood up, sending their faces into the wood floor.

In less than five seconds, he crushed five men like they were nothing.

"I guess it was the latter then." He mused as he slashed the air, throwing off their blood before returning the swords to their sheaths underneath the coat.

Nobody said anything, just staring in dumbness at what just happened, but that changed as a horrible chuckle could be heard outside.

"So it seems we've got a little rat causing trouble in my town."

A man was now standing at the door, his body massive and tall and his head disappearing over the top edge. He bent down and stepped inside to see the carnage.

His demeanor was like that of a jackal ready to pounce on its next kill. He brushed his hand through his tall Mohawk as he inhaled through his nose.

"Or maybe I'm wrong." His eyes homed in on the stranger instantly.

"You've caused quite a problem beating my subordinates."

"Well they didn't seem worth killing."

The leader just snickered even more.

"But you've just dug your own grave, but I'm a sporting guy and I'll give you 1 minute to run before I start going after you. That seems more than fair. Unless you think you can take me on all by yourself?" He said as he ducked under and grinned as he squeezed the top edge of the opening until it crumbled between his fingers.

The stranger didn't seem impressed and was heading after the giant.

"Wait."

The stranger turned to see the bartender stand up from behind the bar.

"You can't fight Taurus. It's suicide, he's not like the ones you just fought."

The stranger just grinned.

"I know. That's why I'm going to fight him." Then he stepped through the door, making sure to walk over the guy who he threw earlier, who groaned from the foot in his stomach.

The stranger walked out to the middle of the street where Taurus was waiting, wielding a giant axe hammer that he lazily held over his shoulder.

"Well I say you have guts, but you don't have any brains if you think you can beat me."

"Well I'm not much for running from a fight, but to set the record straight, I didn't throw the first punch."

"It doesn't matter now, we're both here aren't we."

Taurus scratched the back of his head with the axe nonchalantly as if in thought.

"Well it wouldn't feel right if I killed you and didn't even know your name."

The stranger nodded simply as if that seemed fair.

"It's Storm."

Both began to get more serious as the sun was halfway gone into the horizon.

With a roar, Taurus slammed down the axe, creating a fissure that spread all the way to Storm's feet, who was quick enough to jump to the side or else fall in.

He charged in quickly and swung his blades hard, but Taurus was faster than he looked and blocked both slashes with the large head.

Taurus spun 360 degrees for a wide swing, but Storm leaped over him to his back.

Taurus saw the move and brought the hammer over his head and slammed it down, forcing Storm to backflip out of reach.

"Heh, I hope this isn't all you've got." The giant grinned.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Storm replied.

That seemed to touch a nerve and Taurus charged like a bull, swinging his axe down to cleave Storm in two, who crossed his swords and deflected the blow which dug into the ground.

Before Taurus could recover, he was punched right in the throat.

The giant's eyes grew wide in agony as he clutched his left hand over his throat, gagging and coughing.

Storm backed away and snickered.

"Come on, I was hoping that this would last a little longer."

Taurus was downright pissed as he growled and grabbed his axehammer so tight that his knuckles went white.

"You son of a bitch!"

He charged like a bull, slamming his hammer down with so much force that the ground caved between them.

The result was that the dirt flew right into Storm's eyes.

Storm cried out as he was blinded by the dirt and backed away as he tried to rub it out.

Now Taurus was snickering.

"Your cockyness is what is going to cost you your life." And he casually approached his victim.

Storm raised up his forearm and sword to act as a shield as he tried to get the dirt out.

Taurus stopped as he positioned himself like a batter.

"Hrraaa!"

Storm felt the huge weapon slam into his stomach, making him spit up blood as he flew over fifty feet into the air to crash into the earth.

"And that's just the beginning." Taurus slammed his hammer down again, causing the ground to ripple outwards towards Storm, who was thrown into the air.

The giant raced after him and got underneath his falling body and backhanded Storm to the ground with the hammer.

Storm groaned in pain as he tried to get up.

Taurus then began to toy with Storm as he stomped and kicked him repeatedly.

The Villagers wanted to help, but fear paralyzed them as all they could do was watch Storm's torment.

Taurus grabbed Storm by the head and let him catch his footing, who tried to strike, but his pain and blindness hindered his move and he missed.

"Ah ah ah… you're in no condition to make any sudden moves. At least until you taste my ultimate attack."

Taurus took a few steps back and charged.

"Taurus Twister!" He suddenly began spinning rapidly like a top, with a giant hammer at the end.

His attack hit Storm many times, who was unable to fend off the blows.

"And here's the finish!" With a great heave, Taurus used the spinning motion to swing the hammer like a golf club, hitting Storm in the chin and rocketing him into the sky.

Storm floated like a rag doll for what seemed like hours before crashing the ground and rolling some distance down the road.

Taurus grinned as he adjusted his hammer a little.

"Not bad, kid, but you weren't ready for me." He turned and walked away.

"Oh really."

The giant stopped dead in his tracks and turned to see Storm slowly getting to his feet.

"How can you still be standing? That attack could kill a dozen men like flies."

"Then what does that make me?" Storm replied as an orange fire radiated off his body.

"That's what I wanted you to do in the first place. I'm stronger the closer I am to death, _**breaking my limits**_ beyond Human." He raised his blades as if ready to fight as his eyes went from blue to red.

"Now I'll show you what a _real_ attack looks like."

Just as the sun disappeared, his orange fire flashed to black, cloaking him in darkness.

His roar was like that of a devil before he charged, seemingly splitting into five that went in different directions and streaked through Taurus' body, who let out a cry of indescribable pain.

In that instant, the five had frozen in the same pose behind the giant before one-by-one they vanished, leaving only Storm who returned his blades into his clothes.

"I call that my Demon Rush."

Taurus could only stand as his eyes glazed over from the many slashes across his body, covering him in blood.

"Damn you!" In an insane move, he managed to summon the power to move and swing his axe down.

The axe hit the ground, but missed Storm entirely as he was already in Taurus's face.

With a swift kick, he knocked the giant in the jaw, causing him to smash into a building.

The giant had no more strength to fight and could only stand there as Storm approached him. But then he snickered.

"Hehe, I know your kind. You're all the same. You good guys are always the same. So what now, you're going to let me go and tell me stop what I'm doing. Fuck you. I love ruling over others and making them cower from me as I take whatever I want. So once I recover, I'm going to hunt you down and make you pay. Got that mother fuaaagagggg."

He lost the ability to talk as Storm shoved one of his swords through his throat, pinning him to the wall.

"What made you think I was going to let you live."

Taurus just stared in disbelief as the blade was pulled out and he collapsed to his knees, grabbing his throat as his lungs filled with blood.

"Sometimes it takes evil to defeat evil." And Storm walked away as Taurus groaned one last time and collapsed on his face, his eyes blank with the look of death.

The remaining gang members saw their leader fall and immediately took off for fear of dying with him.

The crowd cheered after seeing the great giant fall.

"Thank you. Thank you so very much." Said a man who was bent over with age.

"You can stay in our best hotel as payment for our gratitude. It's the least that we can do."

Storm dusted himself off a little.

"Just tell me where I can find a guy named Ferris."

"Oh, if you're looking for him, I can show you the way."

Storm followed the man through the crowd and both walked silently until they reached the end of town to a building that stood apart from the others.

"This is where he lives, since it's almost dark, he should be in."

"Thank you." Was all Storm said before entering the church.

He looked around and he could see a lone man in dark robes standing before a large cross in prayer.

"All are welcome in this holy temple. If you wish to repent any sins, then please allow me to assist you." The man said without looking up.

"Sorry, but I have too many sins to repent for, but I'm looking for a guy named Ferris."  
"And why would you be looking for him?"  
"I'm looking for information about a Class A ship."  
"Those are hard to come by and even if you could get one, you would have to pay a king's ransom to get it."

"But I'm sure the information won't be that much."  
"Well you are correct." The priest turned to face Storm.

"Then I'm Ferris. This town's priest and cleric."

"And a well known dealer in the Black Market."

"That I am, well in the past maybe. Why are you trying to get a Space Cruiser anyway?" Ferris said as he washed his face and hands in a fountain near the cross.

"To get to Terra."

"Then you're either crazy or a fool and you wouldn't last very long on a planet full of enemies."

"Why is that?" Storm said as if being insulted by that remark.

Without saying a word, Ferris walked over and lightly slapped him in the stomach.

Storm's body instantly seized up as pain slammed into his brain and he keeled over, clutching his stomach as blood poured from his mouth.

"You may be strong, but your body is in no condition to do anything anyways. You took more damage than you let on."

Storm went to a knee to steady himself before wiping the blood from his mouth.

Ferris helped him to one of the aisles before grabbing a small glass and filling it from the fountain.

"Drink this, it will help relieve the pain and mend the more serious wounds."

Storm drank it and he immediately felt his body healing itself as it rushed down his throat as Ferris took a seat in front of him.

"Since I've cast away my former life for this one. My knowledge for what you seek would be a long shot at best. If you want anything that can exit Gaia's atmosphere, you'll have to get it from the Military. How you get it after that is up to you."

Storm nodded that he understood.

"I somehow knew that it wasn't going to be easy."

"For our kind it never is, but you can start your search better once you have recovered. Please stay here for the night. From there I suggest taking the monorail to Dias."

"Thanks."

"Knowing that I am of service for one in need is thanks enough."


	2. En Route to Dias

En Route to Dias

**En Route to Dias**

Storm quietly stared out the window of the train as it sped down the countryside.

"_The monorail should get you to Dias by noon. There's a Military Installation that might have what you're looking for."_

_Ferris gave him several small flasks of the water he drank last night._

"_These should aid you in case you run into any trouble. There have been reports of a Basilisk around the area as well."_

"_A Basilisk here? Don't they prefer more tropical areas?"_

"_Seems like the war has spread into one's territory so it must've fled up here and made itself a new home. They are extremely territorial so the good news is there should only be one."_

"_And what's the bad news."_

"_The monorail goes right through it."_

Storm continued to stare out into the sloping hills and occasional farms when he heard the sound of children playing and he saw two young boys running up and down the railcar.

One was about 7 years old and the other looked to be about 10.

As he watched them, his memories began to return to when he was that age.

He could see his older sister, who was a few years older than him, and his older brother, who was already a grown man in a Military uniform. The three of them seemed so happy in that time until the war started.

Storm was brought back to reality by a massive jolt as his railcar had been struck by a powerful force.

"What the hell…" He said as he looked out of the window and could see what had caused the impact.

He almost couldn't believe his eyes as he saw an enormous emerald green serpent racing next to the monorail.

"A Basilisk."

(A Basilisk is a large serpent with a pair of arms and large spiked frills that expand around its head like a cobra, but this one was twice the size of a normal Basilisk, its body half as wide as the monorail and just as long, which was more than 100 meters.)

He was then knocked out of his seat as it struck again, almost derailing the entire train.

The two boys screamed as they ran to their parents for protection.

Storm knew he had to do something. If the monorail took anymore hits then it was going to crash and possibly kill everyone in it.

He quickly ran to the rear and opened the door, shutting it and climbing the ladder to the top of the monorail, running through the wind as he saw the Basilisk moving away for another strike.

"Oh know you don't!" Storm aimed a hand at the monster as the red jewels in his swords came to life and the atmosphere seemed to shine around him in a rainbow of colors.

"Eat this!"

A large fireball shot from his hand and the Basilisk's head was engulfed in flames.

It wailed in pain and now decided to find what had hit it. Finally its attention focused on Storm.

"That's right you overgrown pair of boots! Come and get me!" He challenged as he unsheathed his twin swords and took a stance.

It responded by grabbing the railcar.

It reared its head back and struck with a giant pair of fangs, each over a meter long and dripping with venom.

Storm rolled out of the way as it pierced through the roof, scaring the people inside.

Storm took this chance and stabbed the top of its snout and climbed on its head.

The Basilisk roared as it let go and the monorail took off, leaving Storm behind.

"At least that takes care of the train, now I have to deal with this thing."

He leaped over its head and began to slide down its body, making slashes along the way

The Basilisk was angry as it coiled up and tried to grab the man.

Storm nimbly avoided the claws and hopped all over its body, making more and more cuts.

Just as he was nearing the ground, it finally got a hold of him.

"Shit!" He cursed as he struggled to break free as it raised him towards its face.

It stared at him for a long time, its tongue flickering in and out, trying to smell him.

With a roar it opened its mouth and moved in to eat him.

"I don't think so!" Storm raised a hand and fired straight into its mouth.

The Basilisk let out another howl as its mouth burned and smoked.

Storm raised both blades above his head and stabbed the hand holding him which immediately let him go, allowing him to kick off into a swan dive to free fall for several seconds before landing on his feet, leaving two small craters where his feet hit.

"That was a close one. I don't have much more magic to use on this thing and all I seem to be doing is pissing it off."

The Basilisk recovered and the slits in its eyes narrowed in anger at the tiny creature that was hurting it. Then it struck.

Storm sprinted away as its massive claws crushed the ground where he stood.

He darted back in and struck the body, but the Basilisk avoided the attack and swung its arms wide, sending Storm high into the air.

Storm couldn't recover and crashed and rolled a short distance before he stopped.

The Basilisk slithered over to its fallen prey before it went for another strike.

Storm's eyes shot open and jumped right as the claws were about to hit, using the arm as a ramp.

The Basilisk tried to grab him with his other hand, but Storm stabbed the arm he was running on to pivot himself and jump on the other arm and continue running up towards the head.

The Basilisk tried to shake him off, but Storm just dug in with his swords and quickly made his way to the head to stab its right eye.

The beast shrieked in agony as it grasped for its destroyed eye as Storm leaped right into its gaping mouth.

Several more explosions erupted inside before Storm shot out of the wall of fire, cutting off its large fangs in one fluid motion.

He landed and turned to face the beast who was still shrieking and wailing as the two fangs stabbed the ground like spears.

The Basilisk was in pain as its mouth was still on fire. It was in too much pain to continue the fight, but far from dead. It would have to take on this prey another time.

Suddenly its mouth opened wide and twin jets of venom shot from its cut fangs.

Storm was surprised by the attack and was washed away in a wave of poison as the Basilisk retreated in a large cloud of dust, leaving Storm in a puddle of the lethal liquid.

"Damn." Storm cursed as he got to his feet.

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, a sudden pain hit his chest and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his body as he began to break into a cold sweat.

"_I must warn you that the Basilisk's venom is among the deadliest on Gaia. A single bite can kill almost instantly and even if the poison is absorbed through the skin, you only have minutes to live. Just be glad that there is an antidote for it."_

_Ferris gives Storm a small bag of herbs._

"_The antidote is natural and therefore easily distributed to areas where they reside. This plant can even heal you of other poisons as well."_

"Someday I'll have to pay that guy back."

Storm reached into his jacket and pulled out the bag and ate the whole contents. He almost gagged at the bitter taste, but he bore it and swallowed.

He waited as his heartbeat slowed and his body began to recover enough for him to stand.

But now he had to make his way to Dias on foot. He drank some water to heal some of his wounds and moved ahead.

"I hope I'm not too far away."

Night had long set by the time Storm had reached civilization. It wasn't Dias, but it was better than nothing and actually seemed to have a more modern appeal than the last town he was in.

As long as he could find a place to sleep, he didn't care.

He heard gunshots in the distance and shouts before it faded away as if swallowed by the darkness.

"Sounds like a lively town." He muttered as he continued down an empty street.

"Hands up!" Shouted a man with a gun pointed at Storm, accompanied by two other men as backup.

"Just great, more trash." He wasn't in the mood and just kept walking.

"Hey! Are you deaf or stupid! I said put your Godamn hands in the air or I'm going to blow your head off!"

That was the last sentence he ever spoke before Storm had already sliced the gunman's hand and his throat as he continued to walk by as if nothing happened.

The man stood their as if stunned before his hand fell off and his throat became a fountain of blood as he collapsed.

His two friends were struck with fear and seeing Storm heading right for them, took off down a nearby alley.

Seconds later, they flew out as if a great force had hit them and they crashed into a wall. A man walked out from the alley with a look of satisfaction on his face as he clapped his hands together.

He was a tall and well built man in an unusual Karate Gi as it bore many different colors and symbols. His long red headband flapping wildly behind him as his Brass Knuckles glimmered in the streetlight.

"More trash to take care of. No matter how many I beat, they just keep coming up like roaches." Then the guy noticed Storm.

"And another one I see." Then he noticed the dead man behind Storm.

"No wonder those guys were running. But I normally don't kill thugs." Then he grinned.

"Besides, I think I found a really good chance that I can't pass up."

"I really don't have time for this. That guy deserved what happened to him so would you get out of the way." Storm said with a threatening undertone.

"I can tell that you're strong. Not like anyone I've ran into in a long time. So you have no choice, fight me." The stranger raised his fists and set his stance.

Storm responded by slowly bringing out his twin swords.

"Eat this!" The guy punched, and a huge shockwave exploded from his fist.

Storm was surprised and managed to flip out of the way as the shockwave slammed into a parked car, sending it flying and crashing into the second floor of a building.

Storm landed on the top of another car and realized that this guy was on another level compared to Taurus.

"I'm impressed that you dodged my Sonic Punch. This could prove to be a better fight than I expected."

The stranger leaped high into the air and attacked with a diving kick.

Storm leaped straight up as the stranger's foot struck the car, splitting it in two.

Storm flipped backwards and pushed off the wall of a building to land on the opposite side and shot a fireball, blowing up the car.

The fire lit up half of the street and smoke covered the sky.

The stranger chuckled as he walked out of the burning rubble.

"So you have the Fire Materia. Not bad. But it will take more than that to hurt me."

Storm charged in and slashed, his speed making his blades look like streaks of light flickering rapidly, but the stranger had incredible reflexes and was either avoiding or deflecting his attacks.

"_Shit, I never expected to run into a guy this good."_

The Stranger closed in and dealt a powerful blow to Storm's chest, sending him sliding down the street and then chased after him.

Storm was still sliding by the time the guy had caught up to him.

"Now the finish!" He raised his fist right over Storm's face.

Storm raised his blades and stabbed the asphalt, stopping him just as the fist crushed the ground where his head should have been.

Storm got back up as a magical aura surrounded him before he fired again, striking the stranger in the back before he was engulfed in an explosion.

"Come on. This can't be your only trick." The stranger said as he exited the blast.

Then he gasped as he felt a blade slash right across his body, leaving a diagonal line across his chest.

"What the hell…" He quickly jumped away to avoid a second strike.

"You used your blast as cover to get in close. Interesting."

"That's because I knew that you were using your Ki to nullify my fire and would use it to defend against it." Storm explained as he prepared for another assault.

"You're good to notice that. You've made this fight a most enjoyable one." The stranger stared at the long line of blood on his chest.

"But if this keeps up, there won't be much left of this town. I'm going to have to end this." He slammed his fist into the ground, creating a giant ripple from the ground.

Storm leaped over it to meet the fighter and both clashed in mid-air, slashing and punching and kicking for what seemed like hours before they landed and clashed together, both struggling for the upper-hand.

The fighter then grabbed Storm's swords, even though they were cutting his hands, and tried to punch his face.

Storm was more than surprised that the guy would actually hurt himself to get a hit in, but he still managed to duck the blow.

The stranger had used it as a feint and sprinted right passed Storm.

He only ran faster as he reached a building, ran straight up it, and pushed off of it with a foot to take to the air.

"It's over!" Shouted as he flew in a high arch towards Storm with a fist surging with energy.

"I don't think so!" Storm looked behind him as black fire slowly manifested around his body.

"Sonic Punch!"

"Demon Rush!"

Storm turned, swinging his blade to meet the fighter's fist and both connected, and a flash of light shined before an incredible explosion erupted between them and the entire area shook violently as buildings and streets cracked from the shockwave.

After the light faded, their backs were facing eachother, neither moving.

The silence was broken as the tip of one of Storm's swords pierced the ground.

Storm was shocked as he noticed that his blade was broken in half.

"Incredible. You have possibly given me the best fight I've had in a long time."

The stranger stood up and turned to face him.

"But I guess it's a draw seeing that our weapons are destroyed." He raised his right hand and the Brass Knuckle shattered to pieces.

Sirens could be heard coming closer and both took it as a good time to leave.

"I hope we meet again. The name's Carlos. Remember that, ciao." The fighter waved as he leaped to a wall and bounced onto the roof of another building and was gone.

Storm took another route to look for a place to stay until he could get ride tomorrow morning.

The Sun began to rise over the tall buildings, casting its warmth across the land.

Storm woke up and stretched a little, checking for any injuries from last night. Nothing that would hinder his journey.

He paid for his stay and left the hotel and noticed a familiar face.

"Yo." Said the man who was leaning against the building.

"What do you want?" Storm demanded, not really caring as he turned to make his way to the monorail.

"Hey hey hey! Don't be in such a rush!" Carlos yelled after him. "I was just wondering where you were off to."

"How did you find me anyways?" Storm asked, not bothering to answer.

Carlos chuckled a little as if it were the easiest question to answer.

"Simple, guys like us who thirst for battle can always find each other. It wasn't very hard tracking you down."

"And why are you here now?"

"Because you're the first guy that I've run into that actually made me get serious. I've been looking for someone strong to test myself against. So I thought I'd tag along as you seem to be on a mission of some kind."

"Something like that." Storm replied.

They reached the train station after some time of walking.

"So where are we headed?" Carlos asked.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Storm asked.

"I told you that I'm going with you. I'm getting bored with this place and need a change of scenery."

Storm didn't bother trying to keep Carlos from coming as he was now like a puppy that would follow him no matter what he did.

"By the way. You never gave me your name." Carlos mentioned.

"It's Storm."

Soon after, the monorail's engines roared to life and sped out of the city.

The train cart they were in was less populated so they had plenty of space to stretch out.

"Well since we're traveling together now, what are you trying to do anyway?" Carlos asked, lying down in a comfortable booth.

"Why do you want to know?" Storm asked, staring out of the window.

"Thought it might be good to know a little about each other a little. It would be odd if we were going somewhere and all we knew were each other's names."

Storm just shrugged a little, but he knew that Carlos wasn't about to let up until he gave him something.

"Well I'm headed to Dias right now. It's the biggest city on this continent so I'm sure I can get information on finding a ship that can travel to space."

Carlos whistled long and slow at Storm's words.

"I knew that something fun was about to happen. But you know Dias supplies a majority of all military weapons on Gaia. Not to mention that a large portion of its population are Demis." (Demi is a word that is used for Demi-Humans, Hybrids. Their appearances aren't very extreme, but they do have traces of animals within them. How they came about is unknown, but basically they are no different than Humans except that they display more animalistic traits and even their capabilities.)

"That's why. If it comes down to it. I might have to take one by force."

"Don't forget about me." Carlos added.

"So you're saying that you are still coming along, even if it means we might be branded as Traitors for taking a ship."

Carlos grinned.c

"If it means a good fight, then I'll take on the entire Military if that happens."  
Storm was starting to like Carlos, he always seemed to be so enthusiastic whenever there was the chance of a fight.

Both heard a loud roar and they turned to see a giant Basilisk chasing them.

"Dammit. Not this again." Storm growled.

"You mean you've fought this thing before?" Said Carlos.

"Yeah, I guess it wants some payback."

The Basilisk overtook the monorail and stretched its large body across the rail.

The engineer saw that he was going to hit it and hit the brakes, sliding the train to a halt.

Storm opened a window.

"Come on!" He said as he hopped through it to get on top, which Carlos quickly followed.

Everybody on board didn't know what to do, seeing such a huge beast blocking their path.

Carlos and Storm ran to the front of the train and jumped off, putting themselves between the Basilisk and the passengers.

The Basilisk saw two creatures standing before it and peered closer, seeing one in black and roared with anger, brandishing a new pair of fangs.

"I think it remembers me." Storm said.

"I think it does too." Carlos added as it reared its head high for a strike.

"Listen, this think seems to hate fire, but my Fire Materia isn't strong enough to take this thing down. It almost killed me last time I fought it so I'm not sure how we're supposed to beat it with just the two of us." Storm explained.

Carlos nodded in understanding.

"So it hates fire, huh. Then lend me your Materia." He asked, extending his hand.

"Why?"

"Just do it." He gestured his hand more urgently.

Storm complied, removing the two red gems from the hilt of the swords and placing them in Carlos' hand.

"Now you'll see." Carlos placed the gems in his Brass Knuckles, the broken one replaced from last night.

"I prefer to use my own power when I fight, but this isn't an ordinary fight."

As he said this, his weapons surged with fire, yet he wasn't damaged by its heat.

"If needed, I can use my ki to empower any Materia into my weapons, adding its element to their destructive power."

Storm seemed to understand before returning to face the monster.

"So I guess we'll see if it works." Both then charged toward the Basilisk.

The great beast lunged in an attempt to kill them, but they were too fast.

Storm leaped over its head to its back and Carlos leaped right at it, rearing his fist back.

"Eat this!" He roared and punched the Basilisk right in its snout.

Carlos' punch actually stopped the giant's attack cold.

The Basilisk shrieked as flames exploded from the punch as it fought to put them out.

Storm was reduced to only one sword now, but that didn't stop him as he plunged it deep into its body, blood oozing from the wound.

The Basilisk continued to shriek before its attention was turned to Storm and made a grab from him, who rolled away and disappeared underneath the rail.

The Basilisk was furious, but went for the one it could see, spraying its venom at Carlos.

The martial artist wasn't worried as he went into a series of backflips, keeping the lethal liquid a safe distance from himself.

Angered at this, it tried to tear Carlos to pieces with its claws.

"So its hand-to-hand is it?" Carlos readied himself and struck the hands that attempted to slice him open.

Displaying incredible strength, he was canceling out each and every attack the Basilisk tried, which was only getting burned more and more from Carlos' punches.

The Basilisk retreated from its assault, looking at its hands which were charred and bleeding.

"Come on! Don't tell me that you're giving up already!" Carlos shouted.

The Basilisk couldn't understand Carlos' words, but it knew that it wasn't fear coming from its prey.

With a roar, it raised its massive tail and swung.

Carlos' eyes widened in shock before he was knocked into the train, leaving a large dent with his body.

"Damn, that hurt!" He collapsed to the rail, his whole body racked with pain.

The Basilisk was pleased as it wrapped its tail around Carlos and picked him up, preparing to swallow him whole.

Storm came from out of nowhere and stabbed the tail, making the Basilisk release Carlos, who would have fell had Storm not caught him.

"See what I mean. It's just too big to hit it with something strong enough to kill it."

"So what do you suggest?" Carlos asked.

"The only option looks like we'll have to use everything we've got to beat it. What do you think?"

Carlos grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way. But I'll need some time to gather enough ki for an attack like that. And we've got to get it away from the people so they don't get hurt."  
Storm readied his sword.

"Consider it done." Storm took off for the giant reptile and Carlos leaped from the rail to the ground before he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

Storm leaped over the tail swung at him and continued to charge.

He raised his sword and threw it like a dagger, which pierced the Basilisk's hide.

He followed suit by running up the snake's body and pulling out the blade with a sweeping motion, tearing a long gash across the snake's body before leaping away.

The Basilisk reared its arm back and slapped Storm to the ground which shattered on impact.

Storm recovered to see a fist coming down and rolled just before it crushed him.

He got to his feet and began to distract the monster as he narrowly avoided and countered every strike aimed at him.

"He had better hurry up. I can't keep running forever."

Carlos' mind was focused, blocking out everything around him. His ki enveloped him, mixing with the Fire Materia to create an aura of fire around him, scorching the grass and earth around him.

He slowly set himself in a riding horse stance before he sensed his ki peak to its maximum and his eyes snapped open.

"It's ready!"

Storm was tiring to keep from getting caught, but knew that the battle was theirs.

"Do it now!" He shouted and became engulfed in black fire as he charged, splitting into five images.

Carlos' aura exploded into an inferno around him as his raised his fist above his head.

"VOLCANIC RAGE!" And slammed his fist into the ground, which began to split and become longer, like it had a will of its own as it headed right for the Basilisk.

The five Storms shouted as they streaked right through its body, leaving a large hole between its chest.

The beast had a look of surprise and pain before the splitting earth reached it and a volcanic eruption engulfed it.

Storm landed next to Carlos as the Basilisk shrieked in agony as it trashed around wildly for several minutes before finally ceased to move, its carcass continuing to burn to ashes.

"Nice one. Why didn't you do that sooner?" Storm asked.

"Because it wouldn't have been as strong if I used it before I gathered all of my ki. I needed to make sure that it wasn't going to get back up."

"Ok, fair enough."

Carlos laughed a little.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you tried to make a joke."

"I guess that Basilisk hit you harder than I thought." Storm replied, which made Carlos laugh again.

"All right then, next stop. Dias!"


	3. Side Tracked

**Side Tracked**

The rest of the trip was uneventful, but since Storm and Carlos saved the monorail from being destroyed, they got to enjoy the perks of 1st Class in the front car.

"Man this is the life." Carlos sighed as he fell in a booth, the soft leather cushioning his fall.

Storm casually walked around, seeing very few people that could afford such high standards of travel.

Normally he didn't care about how he traveled, usually the cheaper route, but he had to admit life can be a lot easier with money.

"Hey Storm, look. They even have a Karoke Machine." Carlos jumped up and grabbed the mic.

"Don't even dare." Storm warned, pointing a finger.

"Aw, come on. I'm really pretty good."

Storm's look became more stern.

"But…."

"No!"

"Aaaawwww." Carlos whined and put the mic down and slumped back in the booth.

Storm walked to the bar/store that was separated from the rest of the car.

"_Well at least I can stock up on some things before we reach the city."_

XXXXX

The train finally reached Dias and came to stop at the station.

Storm and Carlos stepped out and looked up to see tall buildings that spanned as far as they could see, and that was only the Lower Level.

Dias was what could be called a metropolis. The pinnacle of Gaia's civilization could be displayed for all to experience, as well as its sub-standard dwellings, which consisted of the Lower Level.

The Lower Level consisted of the lowest scum around where there is no sense of law, or for those who can't afford to live in the higher levels of Dias.

Broken down, Dias' structure resembles that of a layered cake.

The Middle Level consists of mostly Military personnel and scientists that are contributing to the war machine. Factories building weapons, machines and Materia all come from this level.

The Upper Level is the smallest part yet only the most powerful are even allowed to go up there (possibly some sort of God-complex). This pretty much consists of only the wealthiest and politically inclined of the entire city from which it is governed. To those living beneath them, they might as well be trying to climb to Heaven.

(I know I know. It's based off of Midgard. So guess where Dias stands now.)

High above even the Upper Level, a slight shimmer of light could be seen, which reveals an enormous barrier that encases the entire city. The need to protect the cities from long range attacks from space became clear as Dias was almost destroyed in the beginning of the war. Now the remains of that former city is the Lower Level.

Carlos whistled low as he shielded his eyes from the sun for a clearer view.

"Wow, I've been in some large cities, but seeing the biggest in all of Gaia and I still can't believe how big it is."

"Take a good long look because we won't be staying here to enjoy it." Storm said as they walked down the street."

"Damn. You sure are in a hurry. Why are you in such a rush to get a Space Cruiser?"

Storm didn't answer, so Carlos didn't push the matter and just placed his hands behind his head as they walked down the street quietly.

The Lower Level might have been the worst place in all of Dias, but it wasn't exactly a slum. In fact a lot of buildings were intact and some looked to be reconstructed, but because the Lower Level was so big, law enforcement couldn't control the increase in crime and eventually it was abandoned to those who didn't want to be ruled by the law.

Once you entered, you had to look out for yourself. Which one person was doing, or in other words, looking out for victims.

From his dark silhouette in a dark alley, he saw two unusual characters walking from across the street.

One was a man who he assumed was trying to be some sort of Martial Artist and the other was covered in black clothing, which didn't seem too out of place except for the fact he was with the other guy.

In the end it didn't matter to him as long as he got what he wanted.

"Hey Storm, I know that you really want a ship, but so far you haven't told me how you intend to get one. Honestly I doubt you even have the money it."

"Which is why we aren't going to buy one."

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

Carlos groaned.

"You're not one for planning are you?"

"You're the one who said that you would take on the entire Military if that meant a good fight."

Carlos belted out a laugh.

"Touché."

Storm felt someone pass between them and looked down to see someone in a dark blue hood walk swiftly by.

"Excuse me." Was all they said and continued on.

Storm didn't think much about it, but he felt that something was different and felt around his waist."What's wrong?" Carlos asked.Storm opened up his jacket and saw that he was missing his wallet.He looked back and saw the person glance back, then waved Storm's wallet casually as if to goad him.

"That little bastard stole my wallet!"

The kid took off and turned right down an alley.

Storm wasted no time and gave chase.

"Hey wait!" Carlos tried to stop him, but Storm was already after the kid.

"Well this will be fun." He jumped on top of a light pole and then jumped to the rooftops and followed the pursuit.

XXXXX

The kid chuckled, thinking that he had gotten away as he knew every inch of the area.

"That was too easy." He was about to open it when he heard footsteps getting louder and turned to see the guy he just lifted coming right for him.

"Oh shit!" He sprinted again and took another turn, jumping over some garbage cans and knocking them over to barricade his pursuer.

"Get back here!" The man shouted, jumping over the cans like an Olympian hurdler.

"Like hell I will!" The kid shouted back and turned another corner.

Seconds later he had ran into a high slab of concrete and stopped.

Storm turned the corner and saw the thief cornered.

"Come on kid. Just give me back what you took and I'll let you go." He beckoned with his hand as he walked closer.

The kid just grinned and turned to face him.

"If you think I'll give it up that easily then you're dumber than you look."

Storm didn't like being insulted, but kept his cool.

"So are you going to force your way through. That's not a smart thing to do."

The kid's grin got wider as he put the wallet in his pocket.

"Actually I led you here on purpose. See ya."

With his other hand, he threw down a ball which exploded, filling the alley with black smoke.

Storm was surprised by the tactic and shielded himself, expecting an attack, but none came.The smoke cleared to find the kid gone, leaving just a faint trail revealing that he had jumped from wall to wall of the buildings to clear the barricade.

Storm's temper began to rise as his aura flared around him, a demonic appearance briefly shadowing his frame.

"I'm going to kill that little bitch!"

XXXXX

The boy laughed as he landed and strolled towards the street.

"Haha, works every time. I'm surprised that guy could keep up with me, but nobody as ever been able to catch the Uncatchable Wedge." He let out a triumphant laugh before the slab behind him exploded, the shockwave knocking him to the ground.

He turned to see a very scary figure on top of the smoking pile of rubble making him look like he had just crawled from the pits of hell.

"But how? That wall was over a meter thick. Nobody could break through that."

"You've pissed me off for the last time, punk. When I get through with you, you'll wish that you had never been born."

Wedge got back to his feet, slowly stepping back.

"Yeah, but ya gotta catch me first." And he took off down the street.

The street was filled with speeding cars, but Wedge displayed amazing skill and agility as he easily leaped on them and over them, crossing the road with little problem.

After landing on the sidewalk, he turned to see the man in black on the other side.

"You might have been able to get passed that wall, but I bet you can't get passed that so easily! Later sucker!"

Wedge finished by flipping the guy off before heading down a back street.

He was quite confident that he had lost the guy and stopped in a small clearing, possibly and old demolition site.

"Now to see what I got."

"A whole lot of trouble, kid."

Wedge looked up in shock to see the other guy sitting on an old bench across from him.

He tried to get away, but before he could an invisible wave of force carved a hole in the building next to him.

The Martial Artist waved his finger at him.

"Ah ah ahhh… Sorry, but you can't leave unless you give up my friend's wallet."

Wedge tried a different route, but again the invisible force brushed by, just enough for him to feel it this time.

"That's your last warning. The next one won't miss."

Wedge was cornered, he had used his smoke bomb to get away from the other guy had some move that kept him from using his speed.

"Good job, Carlos."

Wedge turned to see the guy in black coming from where he just came from.

"Glad I could help out, Storm." Carlos waved as he got up from the bench.

Wedge now knew that he truly was trapped with no escape.

"_Just who in the hell are these guys? They aren't ordinary that's for sure."_

Slowly, he began to back away from Storm and right into Carlos.

"Hey, don't be scared of him. I know he looks a little scary, but if you just give him back his wallet, I'm sure that he will let you go." Carlos offered.

Wedge growled, angry that he let himself get trapped like this so easily.

"Fine." He slowly pulled out the wallet from his pocket and threw it up into the air.

Both Storm and Carlos' attention focused on the object.

In a flash, Wedge had cast off the hooded jacket and lunged for Carlos, brandishing a twin claws strapped on his right hand.

Carlos' instincts kicked in and he narrowly dodged the strike, which hit the air where he just was.

He turned his fall into a roll and pushed off with his hands and jump to his feet.

He then watched as the bench fell into three pieces even though Wedge never even touched it.

"This kid has got some fight in him." He grinned, getting ready for a bout.

Wedge had just used it as a distraction and grabbed the wallet and took off in a blur of blue for an opening.

"Yes, I did it! Nobody can keep up with my speed!"

He turned to see a black blur next to him before a blow connected to his cheek, sending him sprawling into a wall before crashing to the ground.

Wedge was seeing stars for a second before he looked up to see Storm standing over him.

"So you're a Demi. Not surprising considering your skills."

Indeed, Wedge was a Demi of the feline persuasion. His hair was blonde as was his fur which framed his cat-like face. His ears flickered just higher than his hair as his whiskers twitched nervously and his round green eyes widened with fear of what's to come.

"Now I'm going to have to teach you some manners. I think that's only fair don't you think?" Storm asked as he reached down to grab the boy.

"Blizzard!"

Storm instantly reacted by returning a fireball, which collided with a large icicle, which canceled each other out.

"I suggest you back away from the boy or face a quick death at my hands." Said a feminine voice.

"Who's that?" Storm asked as he looked upwards to see a woman standing at the edge of the roof of a building, her hand aimed right at him to fire again.She too was a feline Demi. Quite an attractive one at that. At 1st glace she appeared Human, but her body was covered with short fur in the distinct red and black stripes of a tiger. Her long black hair cascaded down her back which made her feral yellow eyes seemingly glow from her frame.

She wore an unusual attire for a warrior. Just a simple T-shirt and shorts. She looked more like she was going for a walk than to battle.

Next to her tall frame was an even taller Naginata, the pole itself as tall as her and the large curved blade at least 2 feet long, enough to cut a man easily in half no matter how it was swung.

"Hey Sis." Wedge weakly waved his hand towards her.

"Don't think just because you got a little roughed up that you'll get off easy with me." The woman said as she jumped off the roof.

Even after falling over 5 stories, she landed softly with incredible grace. The Naginata however, punched a hole in the concrete, causing it to split from the impact.

"But Sis?"

"No buts! Normally I would have apologized for my little brother, but it seems that my employers have ordered me to bring you with me." The Mystery Woman insisted.

Carlos just stretched his arms over his head.

"Sorry, but my friend here and I have something we've got to take care of. Maybe next time."Storm and Carlos turned to leave.

"That's wasn't a request."

Both men turned to see the woman leap at them and they jumped out of the way as her Naginata slammed into the ground, causing the ground to split and the building in front of her as well.

"Whoa, she's not as delicate as she looks." Carlos stated as the tiger woman gave off a strong animalistic aura that radiated like red steam from her body.

"No kidding." Storm said as he brought out his blade.

Carlos brought out his hand to stop his partner.

"I'll handle this. No need for both of us to fight her."

Storm sheathed his sword and stepped aside as Carlos approached her.

"If you knew anything about me, then you would ask for your friend's help." The woman suggested.

"Well I don't so I'm going to know more about you with my fists."

The woman scoffed as her pupils turned into slits.

"Do whatever you want Human. My senses tell me that you are indeed powerful, but nowhere near my equal."

Carlos banged his Brass Knuckles together in eagerness.

"Let's go." He charged straight forward.

The woman lifted her Naginata and swung it for his head, which he ducked.

He balanced on his hands and began to perform capoera, his body twisting and kicks coming from odd directions yet hitting their mark.

The woman parried each attack and swung down, but he disappeared.

"What the…" She looked up to see him coming down with his fist cocked back.

She barely brought up the blade to shield the attack that was strong enough to shake her weapon.

Carlos pushed off and gathered ki into his hand.

"Sonic Punch!" He shouted and fired a shockwave that surpassed the speed of sound.

The woman widened her stance and swung her Naginata, knocking the shockwave away from her, crashing into another building.

Carlos was completely surprised, he had never seen anyone deflect his Sonic Punch before.

The woman snickered as she brought her weapon level with one arm, pointing her blade at him.

"Is that all you got?"

She leaned forward as if she were ready to pounce.

"My turn." She charged with amazing speed.

Carlos saw her in time and raised his arms to block the strike, but her weapon didn't even register that he was blocking and slammed with incredible force.

Carlos' eyes widened in pain as he shot through a wall, which crumbled on top of him.

The woman shouldered her weapon and looked at her nails as if checking for dirt.

" He lasted longer than I expected. But like I said, he didn't stand a chance."

"Don't take Carlos too lightly. If he got beat by that then I wouldn't have brought him along with me."

The rubble began to stir and Carlos shoved his way out.

"Damn that was a wicked hit. I can't take to many more of those." Carlos left arm was oozing blood, but he shrugged off the injury.

"You ok there?" Storm asked."Yeah, no problem." Carlos returned to the fight.

"Blizzard!"

Carlos leaped straight up as the rubble became frozen in ice.

He shifted his body in the air and planted his feet against the wall and pushed off, sending him flying over the woman."Try and deflect this!" He reared back his fist and fired again.

The woman raised her weapon to block the attack that slammed into her hard, causing the area to sink several feet around her and dust exploded into the air.

Carlos landed on the far building and began to run down it as if her were on solid ground quickly gaining momentum.

As he did, his ki began to surge around him, gradually making him glow white before he reached the ground.

"Beat Rush!"

Once his feet touched the ground, he streaked right into the cloud of dust and a series of explosions erupted from the center, causing more destruction of the surrounding area.

After the dust settled, both fighters were standing at the center of pure devastation.

The ground looked like it was pulverized by meteors from all of the craters and chunks of conrete everywhere.

The woman looked to be in some bad shape, but still able to stand as Carlos was down on a knee fighting to stay conscious.

"Impressive moves. Using your ki to enhance the force of your attacks. Too bad that it left you exhausted." Said the woman as she wiped some blood from her lip.

"Carlos catch!" Storm pulled out a vial of liquid and threw it to him.

Carlos reached out his hand, but it suddenly vanished just as he was about to grab it.

Wedge appeared next to his sister, holding the vial with a smirk.

Carlos clutched his wounded arm as he stared at the boy.

"Damn it." He groaned before he fell forward, his vision clouded by darkness as he did.

"Here Sis. You might have been in trouble if he could have drank it." Wedge handed the vial to her.

"Thanks, that last move of his did more damage than I expected." She pulled off the cork with her teeth and began to drink.

"Now we just have one…ahhh!" Wedge was interrupted by a fireball that slammed into him, sending him flying through a building.

"Annoying little brat. He should learn not to take what's not his." Storm said as his magical aura faded, standing in front of Carlos.

"I know what you mean, but he's in that ninja phase so he thinks he's the Master of Shadows." The woman added as she threw the vial away, her wounds healing from her previous fight.

"That potion must have been an expensive one. I feel as good as new."

Storm brought out his single blade.

"Not for long." Storm wasted no time and charged in, swinging his sword for her throat.

She swiftly raised her blade to block his death blow.

"You are a lot faster than your friend. I can see why Wedge was unable to get away from you."

She pushed his weapon aside and tried to cut him in two, but he quickly backed away as a magical aura began to surround him.

"Fire!""Blizzard!"

Their attacks once again canceled each other out in a flash of steam.

"Come on, it's pointless to keep trying to hit me with magic. I've got more than enough to spare if this is all you can do."

She saw him charging through the steam cloud and positioned her Naginata.

"I'll end this now!" She thrust right through the cloud, hitting Storm square in the chest.

She was pleased, but noticed that he didn't make a sound when she attacked.

The steam cleared to reveal that it was just his trench coat that she stabbed.

"Fire!"

She turned to see a ball of ret hot flames coming right at her before it exploded.

She had narrowly dodged it by taking to the air, which she surveyed to look what he had attacked from.

"Where the hell is he? I should have seen him by now."

Then she realized that the only reason she couldn't see him was… he was above her.

This time she had no way to dodge and he knew it as she was hit point blank by his attack, engulfing her in flames as she crashed to the ground below.

Storm landed against a wall and bounced from building to building to slow his fall.

Smoke billowed from the hole as he watched for signs of movement.

He only saw a flash and just narrowly avoided from getting impaled by her Naginata, which she used like a spear which stuck into a wall like a dart.

The woman charged out of the smoke while he was distracted and fired an icicle at his feet, stabbing deep into his thigh.

Storm flinched for a second, enough for her to finish him off with a spin kick to his torso, sending him sliding across the ground.

He winced a little as he tried to stand, but the wound was enough to where he could barely do that.

"Now you can't use that incredible speed of yours to evade me anymore." She said, pulling her Naginata from the wall.

Storm knew that she had him, without the use of his legs, he could no longer dodge her attacks or even gather enough speed for his Demon Rush.

He could tell that she was more than just an experienced fighter, she was a naturally gifted warrior, able to gauge and evaluate in the middle of battle, determining her enemy's strengths and weaknesses in seconds.

He looked at his sword and cursed that his other one was broken, he might have stood a better chance against her if he could find a place for it to be repaired.

The woman looked up at the sky, seeing its blue hue turning red.

"It's getting late, looks like I'll have to end this quickly." She slammed the butt of her Naginata into the ground in front of her.

As she said this, the atmosphere was filled with an incredible bloodlust, seemingly manifesting into her aura.

Her eyes shined brighter than before and her muscles became tight and ripped.

"Primal Roar!"

She raised her left hand and slammed it into the ground. The force from the blow so great that the surrounding area shattered as if by a great explosion .

Storm shielded his eyes from the dust and she was already in his face, wearing a toothy grin before dealing a deadly combo of slashes and blows that treated Storm like a rag doll.

After dozens of amazingly fast attacks, she ceased her assault, allowing Storm to collapse.

The woman's body returned to its sleeker appearance.

"Wow, Sis. You really kicked their asses.""In a way you can say."

"What do you mean?"

"If they pushed aside their pride and fought me together. I might not have won."

Wedge just looked at the two men on the ground.

The woman looked down at Storm for a long time.

"_Something is strange about this man. I get the feeling that he isn't entirely Human. I'm not sure what it is, but my instincts were telling me to run from him. What could be bad enough to make ME scared?"_

XXXXX

BANG…BANG…BANG

Storm slowly began to come to as he woke up to find himself to see Carlos punching and kicking a large metal door of what appeared to be a prison cell.

"What the hell are you doing?" He groaned as he rubbed his head like he was having a bad hangover.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get us the hell out of here."

Carlos continued to pound against the door, leaving large dents, but not breaching it at the slightest.

"Damn it!" I've been pounding on this for the last 10 minutes and with our equipment and items gone I can't bust through it.Storm checked himself, indeed they took everything, even his broken sword.

"Could you give me a hand here. I'm really getting tired."

Storm got up and walked next to his partner.

"So are you just going to stare at it or help me out."

Storm obliged by striking it once.

Surprisingly it groaned before it slowly slid open.

"Well I did my part."

Carlos just gave him and exasperated look before they continued through the door.

Before them was a long corridor with similar doors.

"Where the hell are we? This isn't a normal place to hold people so I'm pretty sure that we're not in just a regular jail." Carlos stated as they checked the doors for any possible exits.

"I think you're right, but that door didn't just open up by accident. I'm sure that we're still being watched."

Carlos chuckled a little. "So what now. First we get beat up by that Demi chick and now they're letting us go."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that."

As they continued on, they saw a shadow, which revealed to be the woman they faced earlier.

"Come with me." Was all she said before walking away.

Seeing that they had no choice, they obeyed and followed her to a very big room with what appeared to be furnished only by three pedestals, each with a large desk on it.

"Hey Storm, do you think that we won something?" Asked the Martial Artist.

"I doubt it." Was all Storm said in response.

He noticed that the kid was there as well, standing next to his sister.

"So why have you brought us here?" Storm asked.

"Because we believe that you might be of use to us." Said a voice that seemed to emanate from out of nowhere.

They turned back to the pedestals and three figures appeared from the darkness.

Based from their outlines, the two on the lower levels were Demis and the one on top was Human.

"So who the hell are you?" Carlos asked bluntly.

"We are called The Order. We are the invisible hand that moves this city according to what we wish. The Controlling its day-to-day activities and those who are in charge as our eyes and ears." Explained the one at the bottom, who had the outline of a bull.

"So you're an underground society. Not a bad idea to rule the top from the bottom. Not many would suspect it. So what is the reason that you interrupted our mission?" Storm asked.

"Our power extends to more than just Dias, Storm. We even know that you're trying to find a ship that can take you to the planet Terra." Said the second Demi, who looked similar to a bird from the plumage around her face.

"So are you trying to bargain with us? What is it that would require you to ask for our help?" Storm asked.

"Because no one else is willing to do it." Said the Human figure on top.

"Of course you would get more than just a ship. We've already made arrangements for you should you accept our offer."

A piece of the floor rose to reveal a large locker with their equipment in it.

Both men walked towards it and checked it out.

"We've made sure that you would be ready for this task and so we improved your weapons for you."

Carlos pulled out his weapons, which were now made of solid steel and even had spikes on them.

"Whoa baby now that's what I'm talking about. They even have more places for materia."

Storm checked out his weapons that had been repaired, which were now a cool blue color with serrated edges.

"_I can feel as if I'm even stronger now with these." _He said to himself.

"All of your items have been returned to you. Including your materia with an added bonus."Storm inspected the small orbs. One was yellow and gave off an electrical charge, one was a soft green and gave off a refreshing feel to it, and the other was just a small blue orb, possibly a support materia to be used in conjunction to another.

"You'll also be accompanied by Shri-Lanka."

The Tiger woman stepped forward, meaning that she was going with them.

"She is one of our strongest warriors so I'm sure that she could be of some help."

"And Wedge is coming too." She added.

"What?!" Wedge exclaimed in surprise.

"I know you'll just get into more trouble when I'm gone so don't think you'll do as you please."The Demi groaned and sulked.

"We've even made reservations for you at the Chocobo Haven on your way.""Wait a minute. You mean, THE Chocobo Haven. The largest resort in all of Gaia." Carlos said, his eyes getting bigger with every word.

"Of course."The man almost passed out. Chocobo Haven isn't just a place for anybody to get into. Only those with either a whole lot of money or a whole lot of power are even permitted to go there, not to mention that it is in the middle of the Eastern Ocean.

Storm wasn't easily won over, at least not without the reason why they were being given such good treatment.

"So where exactly are we going that no one else is willing to do it?" He asked.

"We ask that you investigate the Fallen Plains."

Carlos instantly got over his fit of happiness.

"The Fallen Plains, are you nuts?! That place has been uninhabited for almost 10 years! Why the hell would you want to go there?""Since the war began, there have been rumors of a place deep within the Fallen Plains that may be able to put the war in our favor. Despite our technological advances with improving the power of Mako energy and weaponry, we've been steadily falling back to a superior enemy." Explained the bull Demi.

"So you're hoping to find a super weapon yet can't find anyone crazy enough to look for it." Said Storm.

"No, we've had plenty before you, but unfortunately none have come back." Said the bird Demi.

"Even more reason for us not to accept the offer. It's a suicide mission." Carlos stated.

Storm stepped forward, surprising Carlos.

"Hay man. Didn't you just hear what they said. Any who have gone to the Fallen Plains has been killed. That land is no longer a place for Humans to live."

"I know, but if I can get a ship by doing this, then so be it. You can back out if you want. I won't blame you if you do."

Carlos put his face in his hand and shook his hand in exasperation.

"You know you really are crazy, you know that."

"I never said I wasn't." Was all Storm replied.

"Good. We have a monorail waiting for you whenever you are ready to go." And with that, the three dark figures vanished.

Shri-Lanka walked up to them.

"So are you ready?"


	4. High Rollers

**Gambling and War**

The new group boarded the monorail and a few seconds later, the doors closed and took off towards their destination.

The accommodations were pretty much the same and Storm didn't particularly like being pampered, not to mention that Carlos had grabbed the Microphone to the Karaoke Machine and immediately began to sing before he could stop him.

The guy wasn't half bad, but Storm really didn't feel like listening to him sing for hours and so went to another car, which was the storage compartment for their monorail.

There wasn't much here except for some random items that must have gotten loose during the trip, which he didn't mind securing them on his person.

As he searched around, he thought he saw a large shadow move in the back.

Carefully, he pulled out his sword and approached slowly.

So far he could only see boxes, but he could have sworn that he saw movement, too big to be an animal, unless you count Demis. But Shri-Lanka and Wedge were in front when he left.

He had reached the very back of the car, but couldn't see anything other than boxes.

So he dismissed it and went back into the front car.

When the door closed, a shimmer appeared which faded to reveal someone crouched among the boxes.

They wore a brown hooded cloak, covering their face and the rest of their body. Possibly some sort of cloaking technology.

Storm walked back to hear the loud singing of Wedge, who sounded like somebody was stepping on his foot.

His Sister was covering her ears, but Carlos was enjoying the fact that the kid had the guts to do it and cheered him on.

The music stopped and they looked to see Storm with the plug in his hand.

"No more screaming or I'll give you something to scream about." Storm warned, his blade out and ready for blood.

Wedge gulped and quickly went to the opposite side of the car to stay as far as possible.

The new group was now headed for the Port Town of Sein. Because it is the only town with a port on the Eastern Ocean, it also has become quite a tourist trap.

Since those with money wish to venture off to Chocobo Haven, they must pass through here to get a ship to take them thus they will pay anything for one as well as temporary living areas like hotels and beach houses.

The beach itself is quite beautiful with imported white sand from foreign continents that few will ever go to.

Wedge didn't particularly like the salt air as it dried out his nose and his fur would frazzle from the humidity.

"This sucks." He whined as they passed by dozens of stores trying to sell them meaningless trinkets and overpriced items.

"Quit being a baby Wedge. We're just passing through to the port." Said Shri-Lanka. "We already have a ship waiting for us so there is no need to stay her very long."

The walk was long and winding like a maze, but Shri-Lanka seemed to know where she was going.

Finally, they reach the port and walked down to the farthest ship where a man who appeared to be the captain was standing next to a large yacht with the name Quicksilver down its body.

"So are you the guys?" He asked in a non-chalant manner as he took a long drag of his cigar and pulled it out to exhale a long stream of smoke.

Shri-Lanka handed him an envelope and looked inside before closing it and placing it in his vest..

"Come aboard. We'll be heading out in a few minutes." He said as he hopped onto the boat.

The four stepped on and went inside away from the harsh winds.

Wedge almost instantly began to get seasick as he groaned and clung to floor to keep from falling over.

"No hurling on my ship or else that'll cost you extra." The man said from the PA system before cutting off.

Shri-Lanka gave her brother an evil glare and he thought it best to hold it than die.

As they began to get settled in, Storm thought he saw a faint shimmer right in front of him.

At first he thought it might have been the wind, but they were inside and no windows were open.

Then his nose caught a new scent which was very faint, but defiantly wasn't from any of them. At first he though it was perfume and assumed that it was Shri-Lanka, but she preferred the scent of sweet fruit.

This scent was closer to what you would get at a garden. Several different smells from many different plants. Maybe clover and eucalyptus, something that doesn't grow near the ocean.

Now he realized that they were being followed. By who or what he wasn't sure, but they didn't seem to be after them specifically otherwise they would have made their move a lot sooner.

He decided to wait until they were off the ship. If his guess was wrong, then a battle might very well sink the Yacht and then they'd be screwed.

"All right! The next stop is Chocobo Haven. Please feel free to move about the cabin and anywhere else while your on my vessel. We should reach the Island in about 6 hours." The captain spoke

The engine revved up and they began to move away from dry land.

"6 hours? Just how far is Chocobo Haven anyway?" Storm asked.

"Well it was placed right between the Eastern and Western Continents so I'd say it's about 1000 miles."

"1000 miles!" The monorail barely makes that distance in 5."

"She ain't called the Quicksilver for nothing. She's one of the fastest ships on water and also one of the smoothest so don't worry about a thing."

The engines quickly went from a rumble to a great roar and they took off like a rocket, spraying water high into the air.

The group was surprised as they barely felt anything despite the ship was already blasting across the water's surface at over 150 knots.

"Now that we've entered international waters. You can relax and leave the driving to me."

The group took his advice and relaxed, leisurely enjoying the ride.

Wedge laid his head on his sister's lap and soundly fell asleep as she stroked his head with her hand gently.

Carlos yawned loudly and stretched as he collapsed on the comfortable sofa.

"Wake me when we get there." And he fell asleep.

All that was left was Storm and Shri-Lanka.

He silently watched her pet her little brother's head as he softly breathed on her thigh.

"So how long have you been brother and sister" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The two of you get along like siblings, but from a physical point. You don't look related."

The Demi just laughed lightly at his words.

"Well then from that point you are correct. We aren't real brother and sister. I found him about 7 years ago. I was about 15 at the time and living on my own. My parents died when the Terrans attacked and destroyed my village. But with some luck I managed to survive."

She looked up at him for a brief moment before returning to look at Wedge.

"Having no place to go I wandered from place to place trying to survive. I quickly learned how to fend for myself and eventually ended up in Dias. The lower level wasn't any better than other places, but there was plenty of ways to earn a living. For some strange reason, The Order took an interest in me and took me in. I learned that they had done this to many others than just myself. They would provide me with whatever I needed and I would be their servant. Of course I'm closer to a bodyguard than a servant. Soon afterwards I found Wedge in an alley, sleeping on a wet cardboard box. I'm assuming he had a similar experience and decided to take care of him. At first The Order was against it, but I swore to raise him myself so that wouldn't have to so they allowed me to keep him."

"So both of you work for The Order?"

"Wedge doesn't, but he is allowed to come with me wherever I go as long as I keep him in line. You've seen how much trouble he is."

"Yeah, a real pain in the ass."

"You said it." She agreed as she let her eyes close and her head slumped to the side.

Storm soon followed suit as he too decided to rest.

XXXXX

_A small boy was wandering through a burning house._

_It had been set ablaze by an explosion as the village was caught in the crossfire of the Terrans and Gaians._

_Fire surrounded him. He was scared, alone. Where was everybody?_

"_Brother! Sister!" He called through the smoke._

_He coughed as the smoke filled his lungs as he tried to find a way out._

_A large beam crashed, almost crushing him._

_He found his path blocked and he was losing the strength to keep going._

"_Help." He weakly pleaded as his vision clouded and he was losing consciousness._

Explosions filled the air and everyone jolted awake.

"Dammit! We've got company people!" The captain shouted over the PA.

More explosions shook the ship and everyone braced themselves.

"What the hell is going on?" Carlos demanded.

"Pirates. They must have been watching the route leading to the casino and staked it out to ambush rich customers." The captain replied.

"Pirates? I thought that this ship was the fastest there is." Stated Storm.

"Correction. I said _one _of the fastest. There are still a few that can match the Quicksilver. Unfortunately since they're pirates then that leaves only one ship. The infamous Gold Saucer."

"Gold Saucer? That's not a cool name." Wedge stated.

"Trust me, that's the only thing about the ship that is harmless. Just take a look and you'll understand."

Wedge looked out their port side and saw a golden destroyer easily twice their size and not very far away.

"Take a look at its bow." The captain said.

"The what?"

"The front of the ship."

Wedge looked and saw three large cannons aimed right at them, firing off a steady stream of shells that narrowly missed directly hitting them.

He looked more closely and saw the three cannons swivel and three more cannons the continue the fire. The cannons were on a large gold disk that spun once the cannons had finished off their barrage, allowing an endless assault on anything it set its sights on.

A shell hit water in front of the yacht, shaking the entire vessel from the explosion.

"But don't worry. The Quicksilver isn't just a luxury cruiser. "

From underneath the deck, six 30 mm machine guns rose and turreted to aim right at the Gold Saucer before sending a thundering barrage of bullets.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" The captain shouted.

"I think he's enjoying this too much." Carlos stated.

"Yeah, but those guns can't take out a ship that big. We've got to figure out a way to stop those cannons from firing." Said Storm.

"Yeah, but how? We can't hit them unless we get closer." Shri-Lanka said.

"Hey Captain! Can you get us closer!" Storm shouted.

"Sure, no problem!" And they began to veer towards the destroyer.

"Are you crazy! Those shells will blast us out of the water!" Shri-Lanka looked like she was about to kill him.

"Calm down, the closer we are, the less chance they have of hitting us with their cannons. They're built to arc so they can't hit us with a direct shot." Storm explained.

"This had better work or I'll skin you alive before they kill us."

"Fair enough."

Just as Storm said that, they could hear a high pitched whistle and saw three shells coming right at them.

"Or maybe this was a bad idea after all."

Just before the shells hit, they exploded in mid-air.

The group was confused at what just happened.

They could see a light blue field encompassing the entire ship like a bubble.

"Hey Captain! Do you have any barrier spells for your ship?" Storm asked.

"Barrier? Hell no! Where would I get materia strong enough to protect the Quicksilver?"

"Lets not worry about it right now and take care of those cannon!" Wedge shouted as pointed at the ever growing destroyer.

"Alright! Anybody got long range weapons to attack them?" Carlos asked.

The others looked at him strangely.

In fact, no one among them were long range attackers. Even if they got closer, they couldn't hit the cannons with their weapons.

"That's great." He groaned.

"We still have our materia. That should do the trick." Shri-Lanka suggested.

"Ok." Everyone divided the material among them and they ran out to the deck.

"We've got to damage them enough to where they won't fire." Storm commanded.

"I'll help you out from here. Just give me the word and I'll let loose." The captain said as the machine guns aimed at the cannons as well.

Shri-Lanka channeled electrical energy through her hand and focused on the cannons, sending a lightning bolt down on the cannons.

Storm struck a cannon with a fireball, Carlos with an icicle, and Wedge threw a incendiary bomb.

"Alright, your turn captain!" Storm shouted and everyone ducked.

"Eat this!" He shouted as a hail of bullets struck the cannons, damaging them severely.

The three cannons we replaced by another round that sent a volley for them, striking the barrier.

The barrier could only lessen the damage, but not prevent it and they took a few hits.

"That's three down!" The captain shouted.

Once again, they used the same attack, wiping out the second set of cannons.

'What! Aw come on!" The captain shouted.

"What's going on?" Carlos said.

"My guns are jammed. You'll have to finish the rest of them without me."

"Oh great, could this get any worse." Wedge groaned.

Another volley hit the barrier, the explosion knocking the boy across the deck.

"Wedge!" Shri-Lanka shouted as she ran over to her brother, who was bleeding badly.

"Ow." He whined as he cradled a broken arm.

"Don't worry, Sis will take care of it." She placed her hand on his arm and it was set and healed.

"Good, now come on." She said and they both reentered the fight.

The barrier was still holding, but it wouldn't last forever and a direct hit would sink them.

"We've got to take out those cannons. But without the machine guns, we won't take them out in time." Said Storm.

"Hey Storm. Remember the Basilisk." Carlos said.

Storm realized his idea.

"Shri-Lanka, Carlos needs to borrow your Bolt Materia!"

Shri-Lanka wasn't sure why, but she pulled it from her Naginata and tossed it to him.

"Ok, just give me some time and I can take them out in one shot." The Martial Artist jumped behind them and began to concentrate.

"What is he doing?"  
"He's putting all his Ki into one attack so we need to just buy him a few minutes." Storm explained.

"Ok, but it had better work." She said as they continued to fight.

Just then, the barrier expired.

"That's not good." Wedge pointed out.

Another volley was launched and They looked up to see the shells arching down on them.

"Shri-Lanka! Throw me!"

"What!"

"At the shells! I'll do what I can to keep them from hitting us!"

The woman wasn't sure, but placed the flat of her Naginata at his feet.

"Ok! Just don't get killed!"

"That sounded almost like you cared."

"Just shut up and stand on it."

Storm placed both feet on it and she roared as she swung upwards, launching him skyward.

Storm could see the shells and prepared his blades as his body became encased in Black fire.

Shri-Lanka's senses picked up that sinister aura for sure this time. Something horrendous and powerful that made all of her hairs stand on end.

Storm gripped his blades tighter, feeling his strength growing.

"Demon Rush!"

He split into ten images and struck all three shells in mid-air, engulfed in the explosion.

After the fire faded, he was badly injured, plummeting to the ground like a bird shot out of the sky.

"Storm!" Shri-Lanka cried.

The captain growled as he jerked the wheel and swerved hard, barely catching Storm who rolled into the cabin with a thud.

She and Wedge ran to him, but he was unconscious and bleeding heavily.

"Sis, is he going to be alright?" Wedge asked.

"I don't know. I don't have any Downs to revive him."

"But if he keeps bleeding, he'll die."

Carlo had finally finished and his eyes focused on the cannons.

With incredible strength, he jumped high into the air, almost hovering above his target.

He brought his hands together and bolts crackled from between them as if he was holding an enormous storm between them.

"THUNDER CRASH!"

He thrust his hands forward, sending a massive bolt of lightning that struck the cannons and obliterated the entire bow in a gigantic explosion.

"Gotcha!" He pumped his fist in the air as he fell to the ship, now noticing that Storm was severely wounded.

Having its main weapon destroyed, the Gold Saucer decided to stop pursuing such a dangerous prey. Leaving a long trail of smoke behind it.

"Phew, that was close." The Captain said as he placed the Quicksilver to auto-cruise and went down to check the damage.

"Anybody hurt?" He asked, checking out his passengers.

"Well one of us was crazy enough to attack the shells when the barrier dropped." Wedge pointed out at Storm's body.

"Damn. Well nobody has ever damaged the Gold Saucer enough for it to retreat so I'm guessing that we're in the clear to reach our destination."

He took a long drag on his cigar and crouched next to the man. Pulling something out of his pocket.

"Just be glad that I came prepared for such a thing." He placed what looked like to be a small charm on his chest which caused Storm's entire body to glow faintly before his eyes slowly opened.

"What happened?" Storm asked.

"You almost got yourself killed, that's what happened." The Captain said as he stood back up and took another drag.

"You have got to be the stupidest man I have even seen. What did you think would happen when you attacked shells powerful enough to blast through solid steel?" Asked the Captain.

Storm just shrugged his shoulders, which really irritated the Captain as he flicked his cigar overboard.

"Now you made my favorite cigars taste bad. Luckily, the damage to the ship is minor so we'll make it with no problems. I can have it repaired by tomorrow so no rush if you get the need to blow your money." The Captain walked back inside, leaving the group to themselves.

Storm looked down at his weapons. _"I guess these new blades have allowed my Demon Rush to hit multiple targets now."_

XXXXX

A short time later, the Quicksilver reached Chocobo Haven and docked.

The group stepped off and they looked around to see the place was massive. It was like a small city filled with lights and sounds and all kinds of entertainment.

"Well I suggest that we head to the hotel and make sure that our reservations are in." Shri-Lanka said as they passed through the large tunnel that was the gateway into the casino leading to a well dressed man who greeted them with an exaggerated bow.

"Welcome to Chocobo Haven. Where all of your dreams come true. We have all there is to offer that cannot be found anywhere else in all of Gaia." He spread is arms wide to display the majesty of the casino before them.

"Now would you be so kind as to show me your passes or buy them from the gentlemen at the booth to my left." He gestured with his hands.

Carlos just scratched his head.

"Passes? What's he talking about?"

The man's expression changed as if he had become another person.

"Well if you think that you would enter without passes. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Upon that second, several giant mechanized machine guns came from the ground and the ceiling, aiming right at them.

Carlos and Wedge were greatly surprised at the hostility and froze as lasers locked onto their bodies.

"Calm down you two. Here." Shri-Lanka handed the man four passes in which he carefully looked them over.

His expression once again changed to a friendly smile as he handed them back to her.

"Forgive my rudeness, Madam. Please enter and enjoy your stay he graciously bowed and backed away from them and the guns returned to their holes, allowing them to relax and enter.

Once passed the checkpoint, they entered an open room with a dozen or so capsules leading to different areas of the casino.

"Whoa, this is awesome!" Wedge shouted as he looked at all the different places he could go.

"Not now, Wedge. We're getting checked in at the Hotel first."  
"But Sis." He whined, but she gave him a menacing glare that made his ears lay back in fear.

Storm glanced back to where they came from.

"You go on ahead. There's something I've got to do."

"Ok, we'll catch ya later." Carlos waved as Shri-Lanka pushed her little brother to the capsule with Hotel written above it.

The door closed over the three and they were gone with a soft whoosh before another capsule replaced it.

Storm then proceeded to another capsule.

XXXXX

Seeing the group had split, the person dropped their invisibility and stepped out into the open and stopped, as if deciding on which way to go.

From above, something landed behind them and they turned to see Storm had stayed behind, hanging from the edge of the tunnel.

"Who are you and why are you following us?" He demanded.

Without a word, the person took off towards a capsule marked 'Races'.

"Damn!" Storm hadn't expected the stowaway to run and gave chase, getting in the capsule after them.

The capsule shot through the long clear chutes that almost seemed like a ride in themselves from the loops and spirals and speeds at which they moved like a giant spaghetti soup.

The capsule quickly reached its destination and the person burst from the door, cloaking themselves as they did.

Storm followed to see people getting shoved aside and followed the commotion.

He had a better time making his way as the person he was pursuing was doing most of the work for him.

"Got you!" He lunged, but missed his chance to grab them.

"Dammit!" He growled and tried not to lose his target, which was very hard considering they were wearing very good cloaking technology.

The stowaway made their way through the crowd that was watching the Chocobo Races and went to another capsule marked 'Theatre'.

Storm just missed them again and had to take the next one.

Once again the two zoomed through the tubes at incredible speeds.

The person quickly took off and Storm continued the pursuit, but lost sight of them.

He stopped and looked, then noticed a shimmer running across the stage in the middle of a play.

"There you are." He sprinted to the stage and right across the platform, shocking the actors who looked at him like he was crazy.

XXXXX

The person reached the capsules again that led to the entrance.

Once there, they ran to a far corner and crouched, trying hard not to move.

Storm reached the entrance and looked around, but it appeared that he had lost the stowaway.

He scanned the area thoroughly, but he couldn't see even the faintest shimmer.

He then decided to see if they went back to the ship and walked down the tunnel.

The cloaked figure breathed a faint sigh of relief and stood back up.

Suddenly two powerful arms slammed on either side of them, trapping them between the limbs.

They were so shocked that the cloaking stopped, they were frozen and just stared.

"Found you. Now tell me why you are" 'THUD'

Storm got his cheek hammered by what looked to be a white staff of some sort.

"Oooowwwww." He groaned as he looked down at the weapon.

"That hurt you know. Now tell me who you are!" He grabbed the hood and yanked it hard.

When he did, he stared into the brightest blue eyes that he had ever seen. Like staring at twin skies.

As the hood fell away, a large amount of platinum blond hair tumbled down, stopping at the person's waist.

The woman before him was of very fair skin, not a single blemish or mark to signify that she was flawed.

As he got over his moment of entrapment, he recognized who she was.

"Karin?" Pronouncing a long 'A' sound when he said her name.

"So you know of me. Then if you do then release me." She demanded.

Storm thought it over and did so, but not giving her enough room to break for it.

"Well now that I know who it is that has been following us. Now I must know why." He stated.

"How did you find me?" She asked, bluntly.

Storm was surprised, but seeing that she had no chance to escape, he obliged.

"Simple, I could smell you. I noticed when you got on the ship with us. You gave off a distinct smell of different plants, more than likely herbs. You make medicines from the plants you grow so that was something that you can't cover up so easily."

The woman seemed surprised that he discovered all that by just her smell.

"Now since I answered your question, you must answer mine. Why would the daughter of our late ruler stowaway on a ship?" Storm imposed.

The woman was a bit stubborn to his query, but he wanted answers.

"Answer me!" His question becoming a demand.

The woman was quite proud and didn't back down from his rising voice.

"I need to get to Terra." She calmly stated.

Even Storm was surprised by her words.

"Terra? Why do you want to go there?" He asked.

"That's none of your concern and I know that you made an agreement with The Order for a ship to reach it." She stated bluntly.

Storm couldn't believe that someone as high as her wanted to go to a place that could likely kill her.

"So why didn't you just take one yourself. That stealth cloak of yours would make it easy for you to hijack one."

"Because I don't know how to fly!" She shouted.

"Oh, good point."

Karin sighed a little before casting off her cloak.

"Well since we both have the same goal in mind. We might as well work together. Besides, this thing was really chaffing my skin."

The woman untied the cloak from her neck and allowed it to collapse at her feet.

For a moment, Storm was even more surprised by what she was wearing.

It looked like a cross between a military uniform and a nurse's skirt that hugged her figure nicely. It was almost made completely of white fabric with a few gold linings along her waist and trim lines.

"That's better." She rubbed her stiff shoulders, giving Storm enough time to regain his composure.

"Interesting look. I'm assuming that you're a white mage."

"Yes I am. Since I'm not really capable in combat. I usually keep myself healed and protected."

"Or an entire ship."

"Exactly."

"Then I think we have come to an agreement. None of us are really good with healing materia so if you were to come along. We would be able to focus more on fighting than trying to keep each other alive."

Karin seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Deal." She stuck out her hand which he accepted, shaking briefly.

"Well you're not as dumb as you look." She said as she headed for the Hotel capsule.

Storm was a little stung by her words and gave her an annoyed look as she disappeared.

"And you're not so high-and-mighty as you think you are." He said as he looked down at the cloak she left behind.

"Well anyways, I think somebody might want this." He picked up the garment and followed her.

XXXXX

The hotel was very high-class, a place where only the richest in the world could afford. It also was the focal point of the entire island, being the tallest piece that could be seen from anywhere.

Storm and Karin walked in and saw dozens of people in fancy suits and dresses of many foreign countries.

Upon their entrance, everyone seemed to recognize her.

"Your Highness!" Came cries from seemingly everywhere as people swarmed all around the two.

Karin smiled warmly and greeted everyone as they asked her questions and complimented her outfit.

"We had no idea that you were coming. Oh such a time to meet Lady Karin in person." Said a young woman with an elegant gown and long flowing raven-black hair.

"I'm very sorry, but I had urgent business to take care of and had to make an unexpected stop here while our vessel made repairs." She explained.

"Repairs? What happened?" Asked another.

"Unfortunately we were attacked by Pirates when we left the Port of Sein. Luckily we managed to escape and reach the island without trouble."

The crowd were in sympathy with her.

"Yes, they have been attacking cruisers more frequently. If only there were a way to stop them." Other agreed to the statement.

"And who is this? He doesn't look the type to be around someone of your stature." Said a man with an overly raised nose as if he were royalty.

Storm's hands went right for his blades, but Karin motioned a hand for him to stop.

"Please forgive me for not introducing my Escort. He may be a little rough around the edges, but if it weren't for him, I might not be here now."

Storm leaned next to her ear.

"What kind of Escort are we talking about?" He whispered.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. You're either my Bodyguard or my Servant., so pick one." She said low and urgently before regaining her smile.

"I'm sorry, but I am exhausted from today's events so would you excuse me." She bowed her head slightly as they allowed her to pass and returned the gesture.

"Next time warn me before you make up a story like that." Storm low as not to attract more attention.

"Sorry, but it wasn't a complete lie if you think about it." She said back as they reached the front desk.

The man before he bowed deeply with a smile.

"Welcome, Lady Karin. Upon hearing of your arrival, we prepared the Penthouse Suite for you." He already had a key in his hand to present to her.  
"Thank you." She said and they walked up the long red-carpeted stairway that led to several elevators.

The elevator this time was a very traditional looking one, possibly adding to the classiness of the hotel which went well over a hundred stories.

When the elevator opened, Carlos was standing in front of them.  
"Hey Storm! I was about to go looking for you since you've been gone for a while." He then noticed Karin standing next to him.

"Hey, nice catch. You sure do work fast. I didn't expect you to be a Player." Carlos walked up to him and jabbed in a little with his elbow.

Karin's vein in her forehead looked like it was about to pop before Storm stopped her with _his _hand.

"As obvious as it seems, I did not pick her up. Take a better look." He motioned towards her.

Carlos took a longer look at the woman before it finally clicked and instantly became shocked and excited.

"YOU HOOKED UP WITH PRINCESS KARIN!" He shouted.

Karin's face went red briefly before rage took over and she slammed her staff over his head, knocking his face into the ground.

Storm crouched next to him as his eyes spun from the pain.

"I'll explain later so for now just don't say anything else til she calms down, ok."

"Yeah, sure." Carlos moaned with a big knot on his head.

"Karin. Our group is already in the hotel so feel free to do as you wish until we get this settled." Storm suggested.

"I didn't know that I needed your permission." She said back before walking through the elevator and pressing for the top floor.

Storm sighed a little before he helped Carlos to his feet.

XXXXX

Storm and Carlos went to their room. which were pretty well accommodated. Even having a minibar and what they were standing in appeared to be the common area.

"There's more then enough room for all of us. We each got our own rooms too."

Wedge came out and hopped onto the couch and began to watch TV.

"This sucks. Sis won't let me leave the room." He whined.

"That's because I already told you that you're too young to be in a Casino. They'll throw you off the island if they catch you." Shri-Lanka said as she came from the same room.

"Yeah, like they could ever catch me."

"Well maybe this will cheer you up."

Wedge looked up to have something fall on his face.

"What's this?" He asked as he looked at it at arms length.

"Just put it on." Storm said and sat on a recliner.

Wedge just shrugged his shoulders and wrapped it around himself.

When he did, everything it covered vanished, showing only his head.

"Whoa, cool!" He shouted as he stood up and turned around , checking every angle.

"Where'd you get that?" Shri-Lanka asked.

"Found it." And that's all he said.

"You sure are strange. The first time you met him you wanted to kill him." She scratched her head.

"And he also tried to steal from me as well." Was his response.

"Now I can be the best thief in the entire world."

"Another time." Shri-Lanka pulled it off of him.

"Awww." The boy fell back down and returned to watching the TV.

"Hey, guess what? Storm hooked up with the Princess." Carlos stated out of the blue.

The others' ears perked up.

Storm rolled his eyes and nonchalantly shoved Carlos over the couch, causing the man to tumble right over.

"It's not like that. She actually stowed away on our ship." Storm added.

"Really?" Shri-Lanka's eyebrow raised as if to question him.

"Where do you think I got the cloak." He pointed out.

"Well if you really met the Lady Karin then why don't you introduce us to her." The female Demi said, not convinced.

Storm just shrugged and made his way to the door which they followed.

"Hey wait for me!" Carlos jumped to his feet and raced after them.

XXXXX

Within the Penthouse, the shower in the bathroom could be heard running, steam floating through the open door briefly before the shower was turned off.

Karin stepped out and grabbed a towel to wrap herself and another to wrap around her hair as she walked into the massive living room and stared at the large window that overlooked the entire island from all sides.

She grabbed a remote and pressed play and soft music began to play as she walked into the kitchen.

She looked in the fridge and even though it was stocked full of food, it was nothing she wanted so she shut it.

Just then a knock came at the door.

"Just a minute!" She shouted as she quickly walked back into the bathroom and came out in a bathrobe, discarding the towel on her head.

"I wonder who that could be?" She asked herself as she checked the monitor to see who it was.

She recognized Storm and the group he was with.

"I hadn't expected to meet them so soon." She said as she went to the door and opened it.

She also hadn't expected what happened next.

Storm and Carlos were the first she saw, who were then knocked away with tremendous force, slamming into the far wall.

She instantly expected an attack.

"Princess Karin!"

The woman saw the only female in their group run at her with wide eyes and a giant smile.

Karin was frozen in shock as the woman grabbed her hands and clasped them between hers.

"It truly is an honor to finally meet you in person! I can't believe that I am standing in front of THE Princess Karin! I am such a huge admirer of yours!" She said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Uh… thank you." Was all the she could muster.

Wedge was in complete surprise, never having seen his sister act so… girly.

Storm and Carlos pried themselves from the holes they made and walked in to see Shri-Lanka in a fit over Karin as she pretty much dragged the poor woman to the couch and both of them sat down.

"I can hardly believe it. It's like a dream come true to meet royalty such as yourself. I don't even know what to say. I'm speechless. I'm at a loss of words." She continued to rant in a cycle like a teenager.

"Shri-Lanka." Carlos tried to snap her out of her trance, but she didn't even react to him waving his hand in her face or snapping his fingers.

"Shri-Lanka." Karin tried.

"Yes." The woman replied, magically calming down from her words.

"My hands, would you please." She motioned with her eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry if I hurt you, Princess Karin. Please forgive me." Shri-Lanka bowed her head many times to apologize.

"It's alright and please, just call me Karin."

"Oh, wow. First name basis with royalty. I feel so privileged."

"Well I never considered myself royalty. My father was just the first person to unite all of Gaia so everyone began to call him King." She explained.

"Really?" Shri-Lanka exclaimed.

"Yes, of course that was way before I was born."

Karin turned to Storm who was looking outside.

"So have they accepted me into the group?"

"YES!" Shri-Lanka said before anybody could say otherwise.

Storm scratched his head a little.

"I did mention it to them, but you already have Shri-Lanka's vote. I could care less whether or not you come along so does anyone else object?" Storm asked the other two, who were about the same, no pressure from the glares of death coming from the Tiger woman.

"Then it's settled. I think I'll call it a night then. The ship should be finished by tomorrow."

"I'll stay here with Karin to make her feel more like one of the team." Shri-Lanka volunteered, and Karin didn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

"Ok, see ya in the morning." Carlos waved and took off to enjoy a night of sin.  
"And I'll do the same." Wedge said and was about to walk out of the door.

"Wedge!"

He winced from his Big Sis' voice.

"I had better not find out that things are coming up missing or else you'll come up missing., understand."

"Yes, Sis." And Wedge bolted out the door.

Storm was the last to leave and stood at the open door.

"This will certainly make things interesting."

XXXXX

Even though night had fallen on the island, it was still as busy as a hive full of bees.

But elsewhere, outside of the supposedly tranquil and safe barrier, war was being waged.

Storm had woken up and could see the displays of military might high above the planet.

He opened the window and grabbed the upper ledge and with a remarkable display of dexterity and strength, swung forward and pulled himself to the next window, and then proceeded to grab the edges of the windows above him and climb the few stories above him.

His floor wasn't that far below the penthouse and quickly reached the railing to get a better view of the battle.

Storm now crouched upon the roof of the Penthouse, resembling a gargoyle in the shadowed backdrop of bright lights and his trenchcoat swaying behind him.

He knw that his world was losing the war which is why the higher-ups were desperate and willing to bargain with him so easily.

Even if they found nothing, at least he would get his ship to reach Terra.

"What are you doing up there?" Came a voice from below, which he recognized as Karin, who was dressed in a flowing white gown.

"Taking in the view." He casually replied.

Karin looked out to see the battle from space in which she was trying to stop.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were flirting with me."

"What gave you that idea?"

Karin leaned her back against the railing, looking up at Storm as her long hair flowed with the wind.

"No reason."

"Well considering Shir-Lanka staying with you, you almost seem nice."

"Well after I finally got her to calm down we really had a good time. You know, Girl Stuff."

Karin stretched and yawned in a very polite manner.

"Well it's getting late so I'm going to bed. Good night."

She said and walked inside, leaving Storm to watch the battle alone.

The night shy was filled with explosions of magic and firepower. The Gaian's Futuristic battleships against the Terran's more archaic (ancient technology) looking war vessels. Volleys of shells and spells streaked across the sky, colliding with eachother or their targets, resulting in eruptions of fire and smoke with incredible destruction occuring on both sides.

Soldiers and warriors on both sides flew in fast fighter craft as they fought in giant dog fights and began to breach the hulls of eachother's ships in close combat situations.

Swords and firearms clashed as well and casualties on both sides began to grow ever higher.

Within the Gaian Armada, stood the Osiris, Gaia's most powerful Fleet Carrier. Commanded by Admiral STryker, a very highly decorated officer who has been fighting Terran's since the war began, but at the expense of his right arm and leg which had been replaced by cybernetic mechanized versions which aside from the gray texture, resemble and function like normal limbs.

He stood as a statue carved from stone, watching the battle unfold from the Control Room.

"Lieutenant Malloy. What's the status of our forces?"

"Admiral Stryker, sir. Currently we have lost 30% of our forces and the enemy has lost 25%!"

"That many huh? I was hoping for better numbers."

The man ran his fingers through his black hair, which was in a very short Military cut, but also graying.

"The Terrans had already helped them improve their Space Technology during the time of peace so the Terrans were more experienced when it came to space warfare, so the Gaians had to fight for every bit of ground the could keep.

"Send in the next wave! We have to keep pushing because we're the last defense for Gaia!"

"Sir! The Terran forces are withdrawing!" Shouted another Lieutenant.

The Admiral did indeed see the Terrans retreating, but why since they were winning.

He nitoiced their Armada parting and seeing their Flagship, the 'Deluge of Chaos'.

As he saw this, even after 10 years of war, his blood froze with fear.

"Damn it!" He pressed a button that linked his comm. with every ship in the Armada.

"All functioning vessels! This is Admiral Stryker! Raise every barrier at once! Crew prepare the 'Eye of Odin'!

"What is going on sir?" Asked the Captain, his Second-in-Command.

"They're trying to recreate DoomsDay!"

"DoomsDay! The surprise Terran Attack that wiped out a quarter of the population of Gaia 10 years ago?"

"Exactly!"

The Deluge of Chaos seemed to be a pedestal for a lone figure standing at the bow of the ship. He attired himself with long robes that flowed by the power he was radiating. The robes seemed to flicker from the runes inscribed on the fabric and began to grow brighter as the man channeled energy around himself, his long white hair and long sharp V-Shaped beard waved wildly like he was in a typhoon of magical energy.

"How long until the Eye of Odin is ready?"

"Another minute, Sir." Replied a Lieutenant.

The Admiral watched as the man unleashed a barrrage of white bolts, striking the Armada.

Several ships were crushed and began to plummet to the planet in long plumes of smoke.

The Osiris shook violently from the explosive impacts.

"Damn you, Alucard!" Shouted Stryker.

"The Eye of Odin is ready Admiral!"

"FIRE!" Stryker shouted.

The front hull of the ship opened up like a mouth, revealing the "Eye of Odin," the most powerful weapon of the entire Gaian Military. A Mako Cannon powered by refined large materia.

Other large materia were being used to create the barriers around the large cities, the Eye of Odin was the only offensive weapon using large materia.

From deep within the huge barrel, energy began to build up with a rising hum before the atmosphere seemed to distort in front of the Osiris before a giant beam of concentrated energy shot from the cannon, the recoil knocking the carrier back several meters.

Alucard saw the beam headed in his direction and formed an enormous shield of magic right before the beam him.

The clash of power was immense, stray tendrils or energy striking enemy ships, causing them to explode as they sliced through them like a hot knife through butter.

After the beam faded away, Alacard dropped his shield and began a counter attack.

Stryker saw this and knew he was aiming at them.

"Fire again!" He shouted.

"But Sir, the Eye of Odin wasn't meant to be fired repeatedly!"

"I know, but if we don't, there won't be enough of the Osiris to do shit! I order you to fire now!"

During these few critical moments, the Eye of Odin and Alucard unleashed simultaneous blasts of powerful energy, colliding in a brilliant explosion of white light.

Far below, Storm watched the explosion fill the sky, eclipsing the moon entirely.

Memories flooded Storm's mind from his childhood as he recognized a similar event long ago

XXXXX.

"Brother! Sister! Where are you? Help!" Little Storm cried as he searched for a way out, but the fire and smoke trapped him within the house and would soon turn into his tomb.

Someone burst through a window and grabbed him, ramming his way through a burning wall just before the house collapsed in on itself.

Storm didn't know how he got out, but when he opened his eyes, he saw a man in a charred Military uniform.

"Brother!" Storm cried in joy as the man was holding him in his arms.

"Are you alright, Storm?" The soldier asked.

Storm coughed some more, but nodded.

From high above, loud maniacal laughter rang high above them.

The two saw a single man hovering over the village, firing powerful spells randomly down on the planet, obliterating anything in his way.

The soldier growled in anger as he saw the sheer neglect of life this man possessed.

"Stay here, I'll take care of this." He placed Storm down as dark energy snaked around his body before he took off.

"Wait! Big Brother!" Storm shouted, but the soldier was already long gone.

As the man ascended, the black aura engulfed him entirely.

Seconds later it exploded to reveal the man transformed into a black winged demon with a single horn on his head and wielding a vicious looking double bladed spear.

The Terran sensed a powerful force and looked down to see the demon coming straight for him.

"So this world does have a strong warrior, but lets see how he stands against me, Shire, one of the 5 Reys of Terra!"

Both alien and demon collided with immeasurable destructive force, swallowing the sky in light.

"Noooooooo...."

"OOOOOOOOOO!!" Storm's rage and pain hit their breaking point as dark power erupted within him.

"KAIN!" He roared in an inhuman voice before the power receded and he collapsed in exhaustion.

His breathing was deep and labored for a while before he got to his feet.

"Don't worry. I'll make them pay."


	5. The Beasts of Ruin

THE BEASTS OF RUIN

Morning came and the group made their way to the port where the captain was waiting with a lit cigar.

"Well I fixed her up good as new so we'll have no problems reaching our destination."

He noticed Karin with them.

"Looks to me like you found yourself a princess. So who's going to pay for her?"

Karin stepped forward, brandishing her newly braided hair that Shri-Lanka did for her.

"I can pay my own way, Thank you."

She said as she handed him a small purse in which the Captain inspected briefly.

"Alright everybody on board."

He shouted as he pocketed the purse and went straight to the Captain's Room and the engines started shortly after.

The rest of the trip was uneventful aside from Wedge playing with his new toy, which would have been fine had he not started pulling pranks. That soon ended when his sister got a hold of him and put him on ice with the Blizzard materia.

They finally reached the next port, which was more like a fishing town than its resort cousin on the other side.

The group stepped off the Quicksilver and checked it out. Wedge was shivering after the ice had finally melted away.

Storm walked up to the man and extended his hand, which the Captain accepted.

"Thanks for the help Captain. We couldn't have done it without you." Storm said.

"Just call me Cid. Don't worry about the return trip. It's already been taken care of so just give me a call and I'll be on my way."

When Cid took off, the group wasted no time to head towards the Fallen Plains.

As they continued, civilization began to disappear and was gradually replaced by dark desolate earth with black clouds looming over them that rumbled with thunder.

"I kinda have the feeling that we're here." Carlos said as he looked around.

Before them, was a creepy and unnatural sight.

The land was barren of all life, black as death and disfigured by the war 10 years ago. Craters ans bizarre rock formations littered the area as far as the eye could see as their only source of light came from the streaks of lightning that would spread across the clouds or strike the ground close enough for them to feel the tremors from the impact.

"The cave discovered is supposed to be at the base of that mountain range." Shri-Lanka pointed due east where the mountains could be seen when the lightning flashed again.

Wedge's fur began to stand on end.

"Hey are you scared?" Carlos asked.

"No, just all of this electricity is making my hair stand up." He tried to push it down, but it would just pop back up.

"Oh." Carlos said after understanding.

Karin surveyed the scenery, closing her eyes as if imagining what happened so long ago to cause so much destruction.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep this from happening again." She swore to herself.

Together they stepped into the darkened land, hopefully prepared for what might happen.

"Hey Shri-Lanka." Said Storm.

"Yes."

"The Order mentioned that all of the previous people they hired never came back. I'm assuming it's because of this place, right?"

"I guess, of course I only heard rumors of the horrors this place has. I think it's just someone's crazy imagination in my opinion."

"No, you're wrong." Karin said.

"What?" Wedge's voice went an octave higher.

"It's classified, but so is that camouflage cloak." She added.

"What do you mean?" Storm asked.

"Just because I was once a princess doesn't mean I'm spoiled or as innocent as you might think, but that's beside the point. What you heard might be truer then you think. Zombies, ghosts, creatures from hell. Definitely real."

"But how?" Carlos asked.

"According to what I found, when this continent was invaded, every military force here joined together to fight back the Terrans. The combined power between the two sides caused the Planet to rise up to defend itself, creating the Sigma Weapon, which they dubbed 'The Necromancer'. Both sides were destroyed by the weapon, leaving no survivors."

"Wait, wait, wait. If this thing could wipe out 2 armies then why are we going this way?" Asked Wedge.

"Because we got paid to do this." Storm answered flat-out.

"Oh."

"So what can we do to beat this thing?" Storm asked Karin.

"Well that I'm not sure, but I brought something that could put the advantage on our side."

Karin pulled out a small green materia and showed them.

"This is the Ultima Materia, the strongest magic a person can use. I think with this, we can destroy the Necromancer."

She made a slight gesture with her eyes that Storm caught.

"But?" He prodded.

"But... only a really strong mind can handle the power of Ultima and... I can't invoke it." She admitted.

"So basically you have a useless Materia." Storm quipped.

"Bite me." She snapped.

Suddenly, lightning flashed again, revealing an undead soldier behind Karin swinging a sword for her head, but Storm's reflexes managed to block the blow before he kicked it away.

"Another time, Karin."

The group was surrounded by the undead, Gaian and Terran alike.

"Oh God it's true! How can the dead still be alive?" Wedge stated as he panicked and began to backpedal away from several blades that tried to cut him to pieces.

"What part of Necromancer did you not understand? It controls the dead like they're his puppets." Karin explained again.

"Well we had better take care of them quickly, otherwise they'll be more of them to deal with." Carlos said before dodging a bullet and nailing another zombie in the face with his elbow.

Shri-Lanka impaled three zombies with her Naginata before throwing them away with a great swing.

"But how can you kill what is already dead?

"Well if they are dead then healing items and magic might be able to harm them." Karin mentioned.

"Well it's worth a shot." Wedge blitzed through a small crowd, exiting through the back.

On every zombie was a phoenix down talisman stuck to them.

In a flash of light, they turned to dust.

"Well, what do you know, it works."

He dodged a sword strike before turning and slicing a zombie across the chest, knocking it to the ground.

"Blizzard!" A zombie turned to ice before it was shattered by Shri-Lanka's Naginata.

"We need to find a away to take out more of them! For every one we destroy, ten more take their place!"

Indeed, as hard as the group was fighting, the amount of zombies continued to grow.

Storm sent several flying with his fire spell, but they were replaced easily.

"Dammit! We're getting surrounded!"

Karin began to concentrate on her magic.

"Barrier!" She cast a blue domeshield that encased the group, holding off the mob of undead.

"This won't hold them for long. We've got to figure out a way to get out of here." She insisted.

"Yeah, we're almost out of healing items. Don't you have any healing magic?" Wedge asked.

"Yes, but I can only use it on an individual. I don't have an ALL materia with me."

"Wait. Is that all you need?" Carlos asked.

"Yes, do you have one?"

The man pulled the materia from his spiked gloves and dropped it into her hand.

The zombies were beginning to break through the barrier, which was cracking from the force.

Karin placed the materia in her staff and concentrated as a soft white aura enveloped her, radiating a cool wind all around her.

The zombies tore down the barrier and they charged the group en masse to end their lives

"CURA!" Karin shouted, sending a wave of healing energy that washed over the mob, causing their bodies to go limp as dolls and collapse to the ground.

Now the battlefield had become silent, littered by hundreds of long-dead warriors.

"Nice one, Karin. Who knew you could use such a strong healing spell."

"Well it's what I'm good at." Karin stated with a confident smirk.

"Well we don't have time to waste. Let's get moving." Storm added.

XXXXX

After a long trek across the desolate land, fighting more waves of zombies as they went, but Karin's healing magic and knowledge of alchemy was a vital asset to the group, keeping them alive when they should have been dead.

The storm clouds eventually subsided, allowing the group some visibility.

"We're almost there. Just half a clik more." Shri-Lanka said as they cleared a tall hill.

"Finally." Wedge said in exasperation.

"But there's just one problem." Carlos stated.

"What do you mean?" Shri-Lanka asked.

"If the Sigma Weapon is still around, then why haven't we seen it?"

As if on cue, the ground began to shake violently and everyone fought to keep their footing.

"Just great, Carlos! You jinxed it!" Wedge shouted over the rumbling.

The ground erupted before them in a fountain of rocks as the great terror revealed itself and landed to face the group.

It was a monster if there ever was such a thing. Its body was twice as large as the Basilisk Storm and Carlos had fought. Its front half shaped almost human with black scales to shape its chest and abs like armored muscles, four arms each with razor sharp claws on each finger, a head with an almost robotic structure except for the rows of vicious teeth in its mouth, and its lower half was that of a centipede that curved towards them with two long tentacles like whips.

"Holy Shit, that thing is huge!" Carlos shouted.

It roared with demon-like ferocity that actually shook them from the force.

Karin felt a little frightened by its sheer size, but Shri-Lanka and Wedge provided protection as they stood in front of her.

"Don't worry, Karin. We can handle this." Shri-Lanka assured her friend.

Storm and Carlos got ready, brandishing their weapons.

"So do you think we have a chance at beating this thing? Asked the fighter.

"Honestly, slim to none. This thing was made by Gaia herself that wiped out two entire armies. Our only chance is for Karin to somehow use Ultima, which I don't know if even _that_ is strong enough." Storm replied.

"Well we don't have a choice here it comes!" Carlos and Storm leaped away as the weapon slammed its claws down to crush them.

"Karin, we'll try to buy you time so that you can use Ultima. I promise that no harm will come to you." Shri-Lanka declared as she readied her Naginata.

"Wedge! Let's go!" She ordered as they charged into the fight.

Karin knew that using Ultima was outside her abilities, but just like them, she had to try if they were to survive. She went to her knees and began to concentrate as hard as she could on the spell.

Storm and Carlos flanked the Sigma Weapon wide and came from behind it, but it saw them and the centipede half shot its two tentacles at them like harpoons, causing them to stop their charge as the limbs pierced the ground with ease.

Both jumped as the tentacles shot from the ground for another attempt before retracting.

As they were in the air, the two cast their fire and lightning spells, striking the tentacles which writhed in pain.

Shri-Lanka and Wedge attacked the front head-on.

The weapon tried to grab them, but the two avoided the hands and began to run up its arms before striking it in the face.

The weapon roared in anger, but the damage was superficial so it simply retaliated.

Shri-Lanka was hammered by one of the arms, knocking her to the ground.

Wedge was quick enough to shift away from the blow and latch on with his claws, using the momentum to land on its back.

The tail shot its tentacles at him, but he vanished by using a smoke bomb, letting the tentacles strike the weapon full force. The weapon howled in agony as black blood ran from its wounds.

"Well that did the job." Wedge said in a confident manner as he appeared on the ground.

The weapon's eyes seemed to glow bright red as a tentacle pulled from its back and grabbed Wedge with lightning speed.

Wedge let out a cry for help as the tentacle raised him into the air and proceeded to smash him repeatedly against the earth, making a small crater with every impact.

"Wedge!" Shri-Lanka shouted as she cast Blizzard on the beast's face, causing it to claw at the ice which impaired its vision.

Storm quickly ran up and severed the base of the tentacle, causing the limb to collapse as Carlos caught the boy and laid him next to Karin.

Shri-Lanka saw her brother covered in blood and motionless.

Her rage erupted like a volcano as she turned to face the beast.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"

She launched like a missile as she battled the Necromancer like a feral beast.

Karin saw Wedge fighting for his life and was about to help him when Storm grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Keep concentrating. The only way for any of us to survive this is for you to unleash Ultima. We'll buy you as much time as we can." Storm let go and charged back into the fight.

"Don't worry. It might be harsh, but Wedge is a strong kid, he'll make it so just focus on beating this thing, alright." Carlos smiled before waving goodbye.

Shri-Lanka had gone berserk and was now a force or unparalleled fury as she plowed her fist into the weapon 's thick armor with so much force that its massive body actually moved backwards, leaving a dent.

The weapon attacked, but she dodged the attacks that crushed the ground before she appeared at its side and with a wide swing of her blade, severed many legs from the Sigma's body.

The weapon howled in pain before its lone tentacle darted for her, which she deflected and charged at its back with a other swing.

The weapon shrieked as a large gash was opened in its side, blood spraying from it like a fountain.

The woman stopped a short distance in front of the weapon as if challenging it.

"RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" Her red aura manifested itself and radiated pure hatred and anger that the ground began to crack around her as she lowered her Naginata's blade behind her, touching the ground as her grip tightened on the pole.

"See if you can take this! BLOODY ARC!"

With a great swing, she sliced the air. A red crescent blade of pure energy shot from the strike, hitting the Sigma Weapon dead on and passed through, hitting the mountain and taking off a large piece with her attack.

She breathed heavily as her weapon lowered.

"That was for you Wedge."

But when the smoke cleared, the monster was still standing as it had blocked her attack, but at the cost of an arm.

The weapon snarled at the damage something so small could do to it, now it was pissed.

Shri-Lanka screamed as its tentacle pierced her left shoulder, keeping her in place as it reared back its arm before swinging with all of its might.

Shri-Lanka screamed again from the pain as she felt her ribs breaking and tore a crevice with her body where she laid still.

"Meteor Kick!" Carlos shot from the sky, his entire body on fire as if he a had entered the earth's atmosphere at high speed.

The weapon was hit by the blow and was swallowed by an explosion. It stood at ground zero of a small crater created from the impact.

Carlos leaped back from the crater, his body smoking, but unharmed.

"Bet you've never been hit like that before." He shouted with a cocky grin.

The Sigma walked from the crater and faced the man like a giant looking at an ant.

"SIGMA BEAM!" Its chest opened to reveal sapphire crystals which began to shine as energy began to gather within them at a single point.

Carlo's eyes got wide.  
"Oh shit!" He raised his arms to block just before the weapon fired.

Carlos was pulverized by the power the monster possessed and was launched passed Karin before tearing through several large boulders with his body.

All that remained was Storm who stood his ground and got in a stance.

"Come on, lets see what you've got!" His aura of black fire manifested around him.

The beast swung, but Storm split into 10 images and dodged the attack by air and land.

"Demon Rush!" All of the copies lanced from every direction, cutting its body countless times before converging into one.

The beast was covered in its own blood which ran rivers on the battlefield.

"I have to end this quick. I can't handle this form for much longer. I'm gonna have to go for broke on this one."

He took off with inhuman speed, circling the monster as his aura was actually setting the ground on fire around the weapon before he shot up the monster's back, using it like a ramp to launch himself into the sky.

As he gained altitude, he turned around as he gathered all of his power into his hands.

"HELLFIRE BLITZ!"

He began to send a volley of destructive blasts that struck the circle, enveloping the Sigma in explosions of black fire which he did til his energy was depleted.

"I hope that did it. I've got nothing left." He panted before he fainted, plummeting back to the ground.

The weapon roared in pain and fury as it burst from the fire, charging at Storm's body and catching him.

It peered down, seeing him unconscious before it resorted to slamming the man repeatedly on the earth, cracking it with every strike and finally throwing him, his limp form twisting wildly before sliding to a halt in front of Karin.

"Storm!" She shouted.

The Necromancer then realized that she was there and it sensed that she had a dangerous amount of magic within her.

It wasted no time and barreled like a freight train to destroy her.

Karin was so shocked that she couldn't even move, only stare in horror as the monster roared as it came upon her, raising all three of its arms high above its head for a devastating blow and brought them down.

Karin didn't know what happened except suddenly getting knocked away and the sound of the earth breaking.

When she came to her senses, she noticed that Shri-Lanka had pushed her out of the way.

The Demi-Human was growling as her orange fur was now stained red as she looked up at the monster, her incredible strength had managed to stay the blow.

"I said that I would let no harm come to you, didn't I. You are the only one that can stop this thing. You're our only hope, Princess. For that I will use my body to shield you to give you the chance to destroy it."

The Sigma raised its arms for another strike, but Shri-Lanka slammed her blade to its full length into the ground, stating to the monster that she wasn't about to budge.

"Just try and make me move you overgrown insect."  
The Sigma proceeded to smash the woman repeatedly, mercilessly.

It raised its hands, which were dripping with her blood.

Karin was horrified by such display of brutality as she shut her eyes, but the images wouldn't' go away.

"Shri-Lanka, Wedge,. Carlos, Storm." Their faces flashed in front of her, they fought so hard and yet she still couldn't invoke Ultima.

"Why...? Why...? WHY CAN'T I SAVE THEM!!" She shouted as tears ran down her cheeks and power flared around her.

The weapon reeled from the display of power and saw Karin aiming her hand at him as the Materia shined brightly from her staff.

"ULTIMA!" She shouted.

The area the Sigma Weapon stood in seemed to collapse in on itself before a white sphere exploded with incredible magic, engulfing the monster in light.

"Again and again!" She commanded as the spell cast two more times, swallowing the weapon in its destructive power.

Within the monster wailed and shrieked as its armor shattered and crumbled with each explosion.

Finally, Karin stood before the monster as it twitched and groaned as parts began to fall off as it tumbled to the ground with a crash, its body cracking like glass before being swept away by the winds.

XXXXX

Near the mountain, unaware of the fighting taking place, a man in a hooded cloak walked into the cavern at its base.

Shortly after, a dark figure streaked in after him without a sound.

XXXXX

Everything was dark, but slowly, light began to come back and his eyes opened to reveal a blurry world which came into focus.

He expected extreme pain, but in fact he felt as good as new.

"What happened?" Storm said as he looked around.

Karin was busy healing Carlos as Wedge was investigating what remained of the Sigma Weapon.

"So you're finally awake?" Said Shri-Lanka as she was standing beside him.

"Yeah, I needed a little nap." He replied.

"I think we all did after narrowly escaping death. Luckily, Karin managed to invoke Ultima and destroy the Sigma Weapon."

"Must have been some powerful stuff to destroy something as strong as a Weapon."

"It's not called the strongest magic for nothing." Shri-Lanka stated as Carlos and Karin walked up to them.

Wedge came back with a few things in his possession.

"Well considering what was left of the Necromancer, there were a few things I found."

He showed them the sachel of gil, a couple of materia (speed and time) and one of its fangs (as a souvenir).

"Since we've taken care of that. Lets find out what's in that cave."

And the group headed towards the mountains to discover the mystery.

XXXXX

With the Necromancer destroyed, the remaining trek was uneventful.

Now before them was a deep cavern, too dark to see from the outside.

"So this is the place, eh? I wonder what we'll find." Said Carlos.

"Well we won't know unless we go in." Storm replied.

XXXXX

Deep within the cave, the cloaked man was standing before a large door that was illuminated by blue lights. The lights revealed that the door was simply one side of a large opening that the tunnel reached.

He gently placed his hands on the door as if searching for a way to open it.

Behind him, the dark figure loomed from the darkness, creeping in and out from the shadows cast by the light.

Slowly, silently, the figure produced a scopeless rifle. The weapon was silver in color and laced with elegant red markings along its frame which shined as if they were filled with power.

The figure took aim at the head of the man, gently pulling back the trigger.

"Sonic Punch!"

The assassin barely had time to react before the shockwave hit the wall.

The figure leaped from the dust and flipped in the air to correct their fall as they landed in a crouched position, their long raven black hair settling on the ground behind them as they sheathed the rifle on their back.

"Now you must not be a good assassin cause that gun of yours sticks out like a moogle's pompom on top of a wendigo." Carlos shouted as he adjusted his gloves, followed by the others.

"Well then." The voice recognizably female as she stood up, adjusting a black cowboy hat. "I'll just have to show you just how good I really am."

In an instant, she whirled around, brandishing a pair of handguns in the same style as the rifle and opened fire.

The group split to avoid the projectiles, Karin raising a barrier that deflected the bullets.

The woman continued to fire rapidly to keep them from regrouping as she ran towards the outer wall.

Carlos punched the ground, forming a dust cloud to impair her vision.

"Beat Rush!" The martial artist burst from the cloud right in her face as began to send a fanatic flurry of punches and kicks, which she seemed to avoid at the last moment.

"YAAAAHHH!" He roared as he brought a up a powerful roundhouse for her head, but she jumped back, his foot just centimeters from the brim of her hat before his foot connected with the wall which exploded from the force.

"You're mine!" Shri-Lanka swung her Naginata wide, but the woman ducked it and brought up her guns to fire.

The Demi wasn't finished as she shifted her grip on the weapon to strike with the butt of it.

The assassin once again backed away as the tip failed to hit.

"Hold still, damn you!" Shri-Lanka gripped her Naginata higher to bring the weapon around faster.

The woman sidestepped it before aiming for her head.

Shri-Lanka gasped as she raised her blade to block the shots which ricocheted off of it, the force knocking the blade into her face and sending her reeling from the blow.

Wedge was fast and sneaky by running up the ceiling to get behind her and leaped off the door while she was distracted.

Without even looking back, she pointed one of her pistols over her shoulder and fired.

The boy narrowly raised his claws to block the bullet that knocked him off course so he corrected himself to land on his feet. In an instant, he returned to the fight and raised his claws to strike.

The woman ceased firing and used the pistols to block the attack which sparked from the impact.

The woman smirked at him with her rose red lips.

"My you're a feisty little one. Haven't killed one as young as you in a while. Hope you can entertain me before you die."

Wedge never saw such a killing intent on such a beautiful face. Not fiery and vicious like his sister, but cold and bone-chilling like death itself.

"We'll just see about that!" The Demi boy unleashed a vicious barrage of slashes that screamed in the air.

The woman almost seemed to giggle as she dodged and parried his attacks, spinning the pistols on her fingers in enjoyment.

"Stop toying with me!"

The woman slipped passed a strike, coming in close enough for them to be face-to-face.

"Ok, have it your way." The woman said in such a sweet tone as the barrel of her gun rested on the side of his head as the hammer clicked.

"Wedge!" Shri-Lanka shouted.

The woman rolled away just as Shri-Lanka swung the flat side of her blade, hitting her brother in the butt, knocking him away from her as he cried in pain as he rolled on the ground holding his sore bottom.

Shri-Lanka turned her blade as she swung around, raising the blade high and swinging down on the woman's head, who shifted to the side just enough for the blade to miss, striking the ground that split the earth before her.

The woman aimed her pistols at Shri-Lanka, but ducked a swing from Storm that should have blindsided her, and leaped to avoid Carlos' leg sweep.

"Nice, but you'll have to try harder than that!" She shouted and fired a hail of bullets down on them as she planted her feet on the ceiling.

The three shielded themselves from the attack.

"Dammit! How can she dodge everything we throw at her?" Carlos shouted.

"It's like she's got eyes in the back of her head! Or she's Psychic!" Shri-Lanka added.

"Then we'll have to hit her with something that she can't dodge!" Storm's aura flared as he aimed his hand at her and shot a ball of fire.

The woman wasn't fazed and aimed her pistols and shot at the ball which exploded before it could hit.

Storm was shocked and then became pissed.

"You won't make a fool out of me!" Storm didn't even bother to wait and charged after her.

The woman leaped at him and retaliated by shooting at his advancing form, which he deflected with his swords til he was within striking distance and the two became locked in hand-to-hand combat even as they landed.

Swords and guns struck and sparks flashed across the battlefield in a dance of death between the two.

The two clashed, their weapons crossed as they struggled to overpower the other.

The woman's face was still hidden behind the brim of her cowboy hat except for that cold smirk.

"Not bad, but not good enough against me."

Storm felt her shift her weight, allowing him to fall forward as she kicked his feet out from underneath him, which he rolled to maintain his balance.

He was about to stand when he heard the click at the back of his head.

"Looks like I win... and you die" She said.

Storm grinned a little.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I don't die so easily."

Storm's black aura of fire exploded, forcing her to jump back and regain her bearing.

He turned around, revealing his demon-like visage.

The woman didn't move, except to shift her hat better, revealing one deep black eye which its pupil turned bright red and slit like a cat's.

"Well this changes things." She said as she lowered her hat and ran towards the exit.

They were about to give chase until she turned around and faced them.

"You amuse me, so I'll see you another time." She holstered her pistols and pulled out her rifle.

"So don't die on me!." She laughed as she shot a round at the top of the tunnel, which exploded and the top caved in as she disappeared from the dust and boulders, shutting off their only exit.

"Damn that bitch! She was playing with us the entire time!" Carlos growled as he slammed his fist into his palm.

"Who the hell was that anyway?" Storm asked as he sheathed his swords.

"Black Rose." Karin answered.

Shri-Lanka's eyes widened in surprise.

"Black Rose... you mean THE Black Rose?"

Karin nodded.

"Who is she, Sis?" Wedge asked.

Karin stepped forward to explain.

"Black Rose, the infamous assassin who is known to have never missed her target. It doesn't matter who they are whether they be rich or poor, young or old, she will kill whoever she is paid to kill. A true monster in every sense of the word."

"So in other words, we're alive because she let us go?" Said Carlos.

"Unfortunately, yes. Seeing that not one of you landed a single blow during the fight and since we stopped her hit, she'll be after us now." Karin added.

"That's great. This is becoming a real pain in the ass." Storm groaned as he rubbed his neck.

"Now how are we supposed to get out of here?" Shri-Lanka asked, looking around.

The party indeed were deciding on what to do.

"We could try and bust our way through." Carlos suggested.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." Came an unfamiliar voice.

They turned to see the cloaked man whom they had just saved.

"That explosion could have weakened this entire area so any further shock could cause another cave in and bury us all." He explained.

"And who might you be?" Karin asked.

"Please forgive my poor manners." The man pulled off his cloak, letting it fall to the ground, revealing that he was a rather tall and handsome man.

He wore unusual clothing, almost Arabian with the loose pants and clothes on his slender frame and a yellow sash wrapped around his waist, allowing the end to dangle freely against his right leg.

His red hair radically spiked in random directions, yet revealed that it was naturally that way as it wavered from his movements.

"My name is Talon, I've come far in search of a power that could end this war. Are you here for the same reasons?

"In a manner of speaking, yes. We were hired to investigate the rumors this place had." Storm explained.

Talon nodded in understanding. "And who might all of you be?  
The rest went around and introduced themselves.

Karin was last to introduce herself, but before she could say anything, he briskly walked up to her and grasped her hand in his.

"There are no need for introductions. Rumors of your beauty are nothing before your presence, Princess Karin." He looked deep into her eyes with his sparkling green ones as he spoke before allowing himself to gently kiss her hand.

Karin was so stunned as her cheeks flushed red and she looked around as if this was the first time a man has treated her in such a way.

"Please, there is no need for formalities. Just call me Karin. I'm no longer a Princess since my father passed away."

"You say that, but you still have royal blood which always gives you a rightful place on the throne."

Talon released her hand and returned to the door.

Shri-Lanka nudged over to her ear as the rest followed him.

"Girl, that man has totally got some moves on him. Storm was seriously jealous. I thought he was about to kill him for a second." She whispered.

Karin looked at Storm, who's back was to her.

"He doesn't look jealous to me." She said back as they approached the door.

As she neared, she noticed that his hand was in a death grip around one of the sword hilts, but his face remained calm.

She wasn't sure what to think. With Talon here, Storm saw him as a rival, but she never saw that he had that type of interest in her. Now seeing that he might, she was getting mixed feelings, but she would have to think about it later.

"So what could be so important as to keep it locked behind such a huge door?" Carlos asked.

"That is the question, Carlos. Of course blasting it is out of the question for risk of another cavein." Said Talon as he continued to inspect the door. "But for every lock, there is a key." He stepped back and took the entire doorway in for a moment.

"If anyone has any ideas, feel free to shout them out." He stated almost as if he were the only one doing something.

The others were looking as well, but nothing was coming to them.

Then Karin seemed to notice something peculiar about the door.

"I figured it out."

Everyone turned in surprise and wonderment.

"If you look at it in sections rather than as a whole door, it reveals the way to open it." The others got behind her as she pointed to the top left and moving her finger clockwise.

"Look, that corner has what appears to be a fire symbol, and that one an ice symbol, and that one is lightning and the other is wind."

"Amazing, not only are you beautiful, but with wisdom beyond your years! I am truly astonished!" Talon praised in a very loud tone, embarrassing the woman to flush.

"Keep it down or your voice alone will bring the mountain on us." Storm warned in a very threatening manner.

Talon briefly glanced his way, but didn't show that he was wavered by him.

"Well we have fire, ice, and lightning, but none of us have any wind materia." Shri-Lanka pointed out.

"Worry not, for that is not a problem." Talon boasted as he revealed a bracelet with several materia on it.

"Whoa, you've got all kinds of materia!" Wedge exclaimed.

"Well at least we got the door problem solved. So how are we going to use them?" Storm asked.

Karin thought about it. "Well how about we try using the elements against their respective symbols." She suggested.

It seemed like a good idea so Storm, Shri-Lanka, Carlos, and Talon set up as they built up their magic and fired.

Each element struck the door and dispurst into nothing.

The group waited for what seemed like forever when suddenly the doorway shook before parting at the center slowly disappearing behind the walls.

"Shall we?" Talon bowed and gestured Karin with his hand in a very gentlemanly fashion.

And so the group entered the unknown to see what was behind the door.

They found themselves in a similar cavern as the last one. except this one radiated with lights from an unknown source.

Everyone could tell that there was something about this room.

"I can sense incredible magic from this place. What could generate this kind of power?" Talon said as he looked around for the source.

"So there are mortal creatures that are foolish enough to come here to die." Echoed a commanding voice.

Like a crack of thunder, a bolt of fire shot from the darkness and struck the ground before them in a brilliant display of power.

The group reeled from the light and grouped up as the fire lingered before them.

"Mortals! You would dare enter the realm of demons and thus your lives are forfeit!" The fire suddenly charged them.

"Get back!" Storm shouted as he brought out his blades and faced the beast as they clashed in an explosion of fire.

Storm stopped the blow, but he was being pushed back by the overwhelming strength the fire possessed.

"How can a mere mortal be able to withstand my flames?" The demon demanded.

"Guess I'm just full of surprises." Storm answered before his black fire surrounded him.

The demon felt Storm's power growing and broke the clash.

"Interesting. But nothing can withstand my HellFire!" The demon's power intensified as it readied itself.

"Oh stop it, or you're going to kill the only visitors we've had in centuries." Came a feminine voice.

"Yeah, you need to relax." Came a man's voice.

From behind the ball of fire, a tall woman with blue/white skin and long flowing sea-blue hair that braided behind her. She wore a strange combination of a bikini top and a kimono bottom with a long slit up it, exposing her slender legs. Her visage was very enticing with a few patches of ice that sparkled like diamonds when the light hit them. Her crystal blue eyes revealing no malice towards them as she smiled.

Next came a bald elderly man with shades, a long white beard and mustache that dangled to the floor from his hunched back and cane that his frail hand clasped to feebly.

"Greetings travelers. Please don't be frightened of our friend, he's just a little hot under the collar if you pardon the pun." The woman said as she looked up at the demon.

"Now calm down, you're beginning to scare them." She said in a firm tone.

The ball of fire seemed resistance to her words, but did so, the fires fading to reveal his true form.

Standing as large as a fat chocobo, was a three-tailed fox with flaming red fur, long black jagged horns, and golden eyes that looked as if they could burn your soul from the inside-out.

"That's better?" The woman said as she turned her head back to the group.

"Once again, I welcome you to our dwelling. It's been so long since we've been kept here that we thought that we had been forgotten."

"Centuries." Said the old man.

Karin, feeling as if she should try to appease them by conversing with them.

"I humbly thank WOW!!!"

She was suddenly cut off as Wedge shot passed her and ran up to each of them in childish excitement.

"This is so awesome! They're so cool! Can we keep'em? Canwecanwecanwe?

"Back off or I'm gonna bite your little head off!" The fox snarled.

Wedge instantly retreated behind his sister.

"Ifrit!" The woman kicked the fox in the shin, causing him to yelp in pain as he held up the injured leg.

"Dammit Shiva! What did I do!?" Ifrit growled as he licked his wound.

The old man laughed whole-heartedly at Ifrit's pain.

"Stop laughing Ramuh Or I'll crush you!" Ifrit swung a paw, but the old man displayed amazing agility and leaped away from the strike, angering the fox more.

The group was surprised at their unexpected demeanor.

Karin coughed to regain her bearing.

"I humbly thank you for welcoming us, but why are you here in such a place?" She asked.

"Because the world feared us." Ramuh answered.

"You mean the planet feared you?"

"No, the world of Man feared us. Our powers were too great to be wielded by men so they saw to it that we were imprisoned for all eternity." Ifrit explained.

"So you are Summon Materia." Karin stated. "Special materia that could invoke beings not of this world to fight for their master.

"At one time we were called that, but as wars continued, men relied on our strength more and more. At first our existence to this plane was fleeting, but after countless uses, we became able to manifest our forms indefinitely as well as becoming sentient, having wills of our own." Shiva explained.

"Seeing that we were no longer bound by our masters, they tried to destroy us. Naturally, we fought back. The devastation created from both sides nearly destroyed the planet, thus we were called Beasts of Ruin. After years of fighting, they knew that the only way to stop us was to seal us away and thus we are here."Said Ramuh.

"Damn those wretched mortals! They only saw us as weapons of war and sought to dispose of us like garbage!" Ifrit growled.

"I am deeply sorry for what my ancestors have done. I know that there is nothing I can do to right what they have done." Karin apologized.

"We'll you did break the seal that has kept us in here for so long so at least you're heading in the right direction." Ramuh stated.

"But the world has changed much I'm sure and our existence has been long forgotten.. If we were to leave on our own, we would be hunted again." Shiva pointed out.

"I don't care. I just want out of this hell hole!" Ifrit growled.

Shiva stepped forward to meet Karin.

"Then I shall make a proposition. As thanks for being our rescuers, we will accompany your party. How does that sound?"

"I want her!" Wedge ran up and was practically drooling in front of her.

Shiva smiled warmly as she leaned her face to his.

"That's very sweet of you, but I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."

She kissed him on the cheek and every hair on his face froze on end.

"We choose who we believe is most compatible with us. If we are not compatible, then that cuts our strength significantly. Understand?" She placed her hand on his face as the ice melted away.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-s-sure." Wedge said and backed away, disappointment on his face.

"But how will are you coming with us? I don't think you'd be easy to hide." Shri-Lanka pointed out.

Ramuh laughed. "The way you see us now is merely how we want to be portrayed by you. Size and shape are meaningless to us."

He demonstrated as his fists cracked and the white hair receded and turned black as the old man became younger, the cane becoming a great scepter which he slammed on the ground, creating a vicious bolt of lightning that destroyed the ground.

Now Ramuh was as tall as Ifrit and was now a handsome young man with a mustache/goatee combo.

"Pretty cool huh?" Ramuh said before returning to his elderly appearance.

"Amazing. I never would have imagined finding something so incredible." Talon said in awe.

"Yeah, whatever." Ifrit said as he scratched an ear .

"Come now, Ifrit. It won't be as bad as you think." Shiva walked passed Karin and inspected each one, casually looking each of them over.

Her eyes rested on Shri-Lanka and she peered deeply at the woman.

"You're interesting. Your kind wasn't here when I was around. What's your name?"

"Shri-Lanka."

"Hmmm, Shri-Lanka, I think you and I would do well together. What do you say?"

Shri-Lanka seemed to think it over for the moment.

"Sure, I'm curious."

Shiva nodded as her body faded into pure energy and drifted up around her neck, materializing into a pendant, resting between her breasts.

_"Hmmm, I like this."_

Wedge pouted as he crossed his arms.

"Compatibility my ass. She's just not into guys, that's all."

Ramuh literally rode lightning to the group, his feet sparking radically for a brief moment.

"So... who looks like they could be fun?"

The old man looked over his shades and scanned them.

His eyes landed on Carlos and he hobbled over with his cane.

"Hey, I like your threads. They seem to scream out, awesome." He emphasized with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks, I made them myself." Carlos boasted.

"Radical, man. I think you and I will have some great times ahead of us."

Ramuh sparked briefly before materializing into an insignia of Rai ( Japanese for lightning) on the back of Carlos' jacket.

"Awesome." The fighter said, looking over his shoulder.

Ifrit stood on all fours and may his way towards them, purposely making each step shake the ground to enhance his terrifying appearance.

He stopped over Karin, staring down at her with an unwavering gaze.

Karin stared back, either in fear or shock, she didn't move.'

In an instant, both Talon and Storm got in front of her.

Ifrit glared at the both of them and spat to the side in distaste.

"Why do I have to lower myself to do such a thing as becoming a partner to pathetic mortals?"

_"Come on, Ifrit. You need to lighten up." _Said Ramuh.

Ifrit growled at Carlos.

_"Yeah, who knows. You might even like it." _Shiva added.

Ifrit returned his attention.

"I've hated you pathetic creatures ever since you tried to destroy us. The second you piss me off. All of you are dead."

Storm stared back at him with an uninterested expression on his face.

"Thanks for the tip. I'm not thrilled about this either. Just know this. If you try to hurt any of us, especially Karin, I'll show you what a REAL demon looks like."

Karin was even more shocked that Storm openly said those words standing before a monster of immense power without reserve for his own safety.

Ifrit cocked his head to the side before he actually chuckled.

"You amuse me. You're the first I've ever met that could withstand my fire. Very well, I'm interested in what that power of yours is capable of."

The fox's body transformed into fire and swirled around Storm before materializing into a pair of earrings.

_"See, was that so hard?" _Shiva asked.

_"Shut up." _Ifrit said in a very short/irritated manner.

(As the group grows stronger, so will the Beasts. Each Beast already granted their partners a higher level spell relative to their element, Fira/Blizzara/Thundara. As their power grows, more powerful spells can be obtained. Even their appearances will change. Ifrit will gain more tails up to nine, Ramuh's plain clothes will become more elegant and embroidered with jewelry and his long white beard will become less shaggy and more braided. Shiva's clothes will begin to change into an armor of ice.)

"Well we discovered the secret so how do we get out of here?" Shri-Lanka asked.

"Any ideas?" Storm asked the group.

_"Well this place was originally built to seal us within it, but with the seal broken, getting out should be no problem." _Ramuh replied.

"Ok, sounds good to me." Said Wedge.

"But the doorway was the only exit and not very stable. What other way can we get out?" Karin asked.

_"We just make a new exit." _Ifrit suggested.

_"Let me do the honors." _Shiva said as the pendant flashed blue and fell to the ground, erupting into a flower of ice which shattered to reveal the woman.

She casually walked up to the far side of the cavern, reaching the dead end which towered high above her.

"Don't tell me that you're gonna break down that wall all by yourself. There's not a spell strong enough to destroy a mountain." Wedge pointed out.

Shiva placed her hand against the wall and smiled.

"Have you forgotten, little boy? We are called the Beasts of Ruin."

In an instant, the entire wall had been covered in ice, she gently pulled back her index finger and flicked it.

With the force of an explosion, the wall shattered into countless fragments, the wall destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Wedge's jaw dropped in awe as they stared at sunlight through an opening that was easily half a kilometer long.

Shiva looked at her nails in a bored fashion.

"Hmmm, that was easier than I thought. Without the seal binding us, that is." She turned back to the group.

"Shall we go?" She then returned to her pendant form around Shri-Lanka's neck.

As the group proceeded outside, Talon held back and began to ponder the events of discovering such powerful beings.

The group reached the outside, standing on land that none of them were familiar with.

"So where do we go from here? Who knows how long this mountain range goes or how long it will take to find a decent place to sleep." Shri-Lanka pointed out.

"Well it can be done if we have don't have to go on foot." Talon placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, the shrill sound echoing off the mountain face.

From the distance a sound replied and in seconds a giant yellow bird ran up to them and slid to a halt next to Talon.

"A Chocobo? I haven't seen one since I was a kid. Not many use them to get around anymore with all of the modern technology for transportation." Carlos said as he checked out the creature.

"True, but Chocobos are more reliable and can get to places most machines can't reach." Talon patted the bird on its head as it cooed and swawked.

"But none of us have any Chocobos to ride." Karin pointed out.

_"Ifrit?" _Ramuh said.

_"What?" _The earrings snapped.

_"Come on..."_

_"You know one of these days I'm gonna kill you,Ramuh." _Ifrit growled as the earrings shined and flew out in front of Storm before exploding into an inferno as he tore through the fire viciously as if it were a cage keeping him inside.

_"Well since there is no other choice, they are going to have to ride you." _Ramuh said.

"What do you mean?" Wedge asked, looking up at a very irritated fox demon.

_"It seems to be the quickest way til we can find a suitable place to spend the night .Or would you rather stay in the mountain we've been sealed in for so long?" _Shiva explained.

Ifrit laid down and he allowed the group to climb on top before standing back up.

Talon motioned the Chocobo alongside Ifrit.

"So is everyone ready?" He asked.

Ifrit just growled in response.

"Ok, lets proceed to our next destination!"

The Chocobo squawked and took off in a cloud of dust as Ifrit followed in great bounds into the Sunset.


	6. The Samurai

THE SAMURAI

The sun had set before the party could reach a suitable place, but that had covered a lot of ground before they stopped to rest for the night.

"Awesome! You're wicked fast Ifrit." Wedge proclaimed as he stretched his arms wide from the trip.

"Indeed. My Chocobo had some trouble keeping up with you." Talon said as he fed the bird and pulled off the saddle.

"Well it was a little rough riding bareback." Shri-Lanka complained as she sat on the ground, laying her Naginata next to her.

_"Hmmm..." _Came Shiva.

_"No... there is no way in hell that I am wearing a saddle!" _Ifrit shouted before Shiva could suggest it.

"Anyways, we are near a forest. Maybe we should grab some tinder and make a fire." Storm suggested.

"Good idea. It'll almost feel like we're camping. Come on little guy." Carlos said as he took Wedge with him.

"Luckily I was prepared for this and brought a tent." Talon pulled out a small box and tossed it on the ground. Seconds later, the box began to transform, unfolding and growing until it became a fair sized tent.

"It's large enough to hold four, unfortunately I wasn't expecting company and thus I only have one." Talon explained, possibly hinting that he could get Karin in the same tent with him.

"Hmph." Was all Storm said before tossing out his own box which quickly became a tent.

"You're not the only one who came prepared so stop acting so high and mighty."

Talon looked a little irked, but held his composure.

"That's rich, coming from someone who looks like they grew up in some backwater town."

"What was that!?" Both men were now in eachother's faces, Storm brandishing his swords and Talon wielding a crossbow attached to his left arm, bolt cocked and ready to fire.

Karin was shocked at how short-tempered the two were acting.

Shri-Lanka sighed as she leaned back on her hands.

"This doesn't look good." Though she made no motion to stop it.

"Please, both of you stop it. You're acting like children." Karin demanded.

"He started it!" Storm pointed at Talon.

"Did not!" Both men were back in eachother's faces again.

Karin let out a breath of irritation before she reached into her clothes and pulled out a vial of powder.

"I said stop this right now!" She shouted and threw the vial at their feet, the power exploding into a small yellow cloud around the two.

After the cloud faded, the two were still standing, but their expressions were that of confusion.

"There, now stay that way until you've cooled off."

Shri-Lanka quickly stood up with surprise and walked up to them and noticing that they weren't budging.

"You paralyzed them. I didn't know that you had items like that."

"Well I guess Storm never told you, but I am also an herbalist. With the right herbs, I can make any cure or ailment, or even heal and empower people."

_"Wow, I'm impressed about your knowledge with nature._" Shiva complimented.

"But I'm not a strong warrior and a healer can sometimes be more important that a fighter."

"But why now of all times?" Shri-Lanka asked.

"Well for the most part, we've been fighting undead creatures so my herbs are useless against them and I doubt my herbs were strong enough to do anything against the Necromancer."

"Oh." The Demi nodded.

Carlos and Wedge showed up with a large bundle each.

"Ok, we're back! So how...." Carlos trailed off, seeing Storm and Talon staring at eachother.

He leaned down to Wedge's ear.

"Did we miss something?"

Shri-Lanka turned her head back to them.

"Hey, you're here. Just put the wood over there." She said as she stood up and stretched, kicking up her weapon.

The two tossed them into a pile as Wedge walked up to the two men and looked them up and down in a puzzled fashion.

"They're fine. Don't worry." Shri-Lanka said as she readied the wood for a fire.

Wedge then had a mischievous look on his face as his fingers itched with bad things in mind.

"I wouldn't do that. Karin will eventually return them to normal and I'm sure they will turn their all of their anger on you once she does."

Wedge actually seemed to turn a little pale at the thought. Storm himself could be a pretty scary guy and who knows what Talon is capable of.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said a wisely stepped away.

Karin burst from a Tent and stood before the men, placing her hand on her hips as her eyes swept over each of them.

"Now listen closely as it is the only thing I am allowing you to do. I already set up one tent. Girls only to make things easier. When dinner is ready I'll administer the antidote so until then, I suggest you make up."

An hour later the food had been cooked and the two were on opposite sides of the fire. The atmosphere was tense between the two, enough that nobody wanted to be the one to break it less the two suddenly go at it again.

_"Oh for crying out loud! I didn't escape from that damned seal for this!" _Ifrit growled.

_"Yeah, this is such a buzz kill." _Ramuh added.

_"Then lets alleviate the situation." _Shiva said as she formed herself from the medallion and rested next to Shri-Lanka, letting the light of the fire dance on her shimmering skin.

"How about this?" She suggested as she showed a little skin.

_"Oh come on, you always do this. Don't you have any decency?" _Ifrit groaned.

_"I don't mind." _Ramuh stated.

Carlos and Wedge didn't mind either, but were too busy staring to say anything.

"Well decency isn't something we have to worry about." Shiva said, referring to her kind as she leaned against Shri-Lanka, resting a hand on her thigh.

The woman was surprised by this.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Nothing... yet." Shiva leaned closer.

"But... you're a woman?" Shri-Lanka said, leaning away from Shiva's face.

_"Don't you remember that we can change our forms. We have no gender if that's what you're referring to." _ Ramuh explained.

"So Shiva being a woman is because she likes it?" Karin asked.

"Yes I do, but I like more than just being a woman." Shiva said, running her fingers up and down the Demi's leg.

_"Don't worry, she's just teasing." _ Ramuh told her.

"Oh, now it's not fun anymore since you told her." Shiva pouted and crossed her arms and legs, seeing her fun spoiled.

This helped relieve the tension and made the party relax, not that it settled things between Storm and Talon.

"Well it's getting late. I'll be getting some shut eye." Carlos bid farewell and stepped into the tent.

The others were soon to follow, leaving the two men alone as the fire began to die, leaving them to the darkness.

"I do believe that we've had some sort of misunderstanding." Talon said, breaking the silence.

"I doubt it. I've met your kind before. I've even killed a few. You try to act like god's gift to women by enticing them with pretty words and gestures. But once you've succeeded with whatever goal you were after, they are but another trophy to add to your mantle." Storm said in a deathly stern tone. "And I'll be damned if you try to do the same to Karin. The only reason you're here is because we saved your sorry ass from the world's deadliest assassin so don't think this is a free ride."

Talon smirked a little.

"So you have your eye on the Princess as well."

Storm's hard expression twisted into irritation.

Talon's smirk began to grow wider in realization.

"So I'm right. Of course I would say that you're not so right about me. So at least for the mean time, for the princesses' sake, lets remain civil with eachother. Shall we?" Talon stood up and offered his hand.

Storm stood up, but didn't bring forth his own hand.

"That's the first smart thing you've said since we met. But you try anything funny and it'll take more than paralysis to stop me." Storm warned as he turned towards the tent.

Talon withdrew his hand.

"Well since that's settled." He turned and made his way to the other tent.

"Where do you think you're going?" Storm asked, not looking back.

Talon winced. "Right. Forgot about that." He muttered under his breath before he turned away, looking a little disappointed.

XXXXX

The morning sun had risen and the group had finished packing.

Ifrit roared as he stretched his front paws and arched his back before laying down.

"Alright, lets get this over with." He told them as they climbed on top of his back.

"So where to from here?" Ifrit asked.

"Well there must be a town somewhere on this continent. The Fallen Plains only covered the southern half of the continent so there must be a place where people are living.

Ifrit raised his nose into the air and sniffed.

"I can smell food in the air. It's a strange scent and very faint. If we keep heading west, we can reach it before Noon."

"Alright! Lets do this!" Shouted Carlos and pumped his fist into the air.

And so they rode westward.

In a matter of hours, they had reached the boundaries of what looked like an ancient village with a large tower and a giant statue carved into the mountain wall.

_"Hey Ramuh, do you feel that?" _Ifrit asked.

_"Yes I do. Very unexpected from such a far away place." _Ramuh replied.

_"Calm down, whoever it is, they much sense us as well." _Shiva warned.

"Now this is an interesting place." Talon said as he jumped off his Chocobo.

The others jumped off Ifrit and he returned to being earrings.

"Well maybe we can find out where we are and how to get back to Dias." Karin suggested.

"Wise decision, Princess Karin." Talon said, which received an angry glare from Storm.

The party entered the town and were more than a little surprised at what they saw.

"It's looks like we've gone back in time." Shri-Lanka said as they saw Chocobo drawn carriages, wooden houses and very simple clothing.

"Well we won't get anywhere unless we ask." Karin proceeded to cross a bridge that led into town.

Several of the locals saw them and approached them.

"Greetings and welcome to Wutai. From where do you visitors hail?" One asked.

Karin stepped forward and greeted them politely.

"Thank you for such a kind welcome, we come from Dias. I am Karin. My party and I had just completed a quest, but unfortunately we have no means to make it back from where we came. Would you be so kind as to show us a route to our continent?" She asked.

The locals bowed respectfully.

"Ah it is wonderful that the famous Princess of Gaia has graced us with her presence. Our Leader would be more than happy to show you the way. Please, come with us." They motioned and the group followed.

As they did, they continued to look around, seeing how old fashioned the place looked.

"This is something unexpected in this time and age. Do you think that this place was cut off from the rest of the world?" Wedge asked his sister.

"I doubt it. They knew who Karin was. I would say that they prefer this type of life. From the resources around them, they have a stable means of living so they have no need for modern technology." She explained.

The group had been brought to the tall tower which resembled an old Japanese Castle.

The locals bowed before leaving, letting the group enter on their own.

Inside with a clean wooden floor with the sunlight reflecting off its waxed surface and shining off of the many weapons that spread down the walls.

"Welcome, travelers." Said a voice that echoed off the walls.

Before them, was a man who wore a sea green kimono and a long ponytail that draped over his left shoulder, kneeling on a soft red pillow.

"Please sit." He motioned with a wave of his hand, which guided their eyes to see 6 similar pillowed displayed in a crescent before him. Word travels fast.

Each knelt down on a pillow in order to not disrespect the man.

"I am Gin Kisaragi, the Leader of Wutai."

"I am Karin and these are my companions, Shri-Lanka, Carlos, Wedge, Storm, and Talon."

Gin nodded.

" Would you like anything to drink? Tea, liquor, water even?"

Karin raised her hand to stop him.

"Thank you, but there is no need for that. We will be staying at least for the night so we can pay for our room and board. So why is the Leader welcoming us himself?" She asked.

Gin smiled.

"It's rare that someone of your stature has come from such a long way. I would at least show my hospitality as my village's leader." Gin assured her.

"You said, 'stature' and not 'lineage'. Quite an interesting use of words." Karin pointed out.

Gin's smile widened.

"Very keen for you to notice. Yes, the rest of the world acknowledges birthright as a form of leadership requisite. But to us, a person's blood is no different than anyone else's when it's on the ground."

Karin's eyes seemed to widen at such bloodthirsty words.

"What matters most to the people of Wutai is..."

In a flash, a half dozen shadows seem to appear from thin air.

Everyone was reaching for their weapons for battle.

"Hyyaaaaa!" Gin crowed as he leaped into the air, the Kimono cast away, revealing a powerfully built body with a tight black spandex uniform strapped with kunai, smoke bombs, and Kusari-gama (a kama chained to a ball) wrapped around his chest, and a giant six-pointed serrated shuriken on his back.

The battle was over in an instant before Gin even touched the ground.

"POWER!!" Gin shouted as he struck a pose, the six shadows laid on the floor around him, the guests were never their targets.

"That is our Way of the Ninja."

Everyone was surprised, Wedge was drooling with sparkling eyes.

Gin scratched his head with a shuriken, one of many that were stuck in the walls and floor.

"Well enough with the formalities." Gin threw the shuriken with two fingers in a bored fashion, the shuriken spinning to strike one of the boards of the wall, which split right in half from the force.

"I really hate wearing stuff like that, Makes me feel constricted." Gin cracked his neck a few times.

"Ok men, disburst!" He shouted.

The men he had knocked out quickly bowed deeply with a combined shouted and were gone as fast as they had came.

"Come, the mountain air is much better." Gin walked to a side door and they followed.

Gin took a deep breath. "Ahh that's better."

"So the city of Dias, eh. Sounds like a fun place from what our intelligence explains. It's also the Military capital so there must be plenty of interesting toys you have." He said as he walked over to a large boulder and jumped on top with ease before laying down, propping his head with his left hand.

"You are well informed, but it seems that even though our worlds are at war, you seem to have a neutral part in this." Karin stated.

"Well for the most part, we'd be fish out of water when it comes to space battles. But the Kisaragi Clan has amounted a sizeable cache of Materia and weapons should we ever do go into battle. With our daily training, I doubt there is anyone that can stand up to us. Even the Reys which I've heard so much about." Gin boasted.

"Then all I can say is that your intelligence is flawed. The Reys are a power that only the strongest of materia can even hope to match. Each one has the strength of an entire army. I'm sure that you know of Doomsday. That was just one that nearly wiped out an entire continent of people. There are three more just as powerful. Do you think your people can withstand that kind of power?" Said Karin.

"Well we'll see when it comes to that." Gin replied, rolling a Kunai through his fingers like a pencil.

Karin was quickly losing her temper. Never had she met a man in power with such disregard for diplomacy. So this is who he truly is. A cocky show-off with no tact or manners.

Shri-Lanka saw her body trembling to hold back her anger so she rested her hands on her shoulders.

"Well we do have an inn for you to rest in if you're tired so if you don't have anything else then you may go." He said, losing interest as he rolled over, exposing his back.

"Why you!" Karin was about to snap when Shri-Lanka grappled her and motioned her away from the man as quickly as she could without making a scene.

The other also decided to leave and so they went their own ways to explore the town.

All that remained was Wedge.

"Um, excuse me. Master Kisaragi." He started.

"I don't recall making you my student."

Wedge almost jumped as the man somehow was instantly behind him.

Wedge immediately bowed deeply.

"Yes sir. I was just wondering if, since we won't be staying very long, if you could train me in the Way of the Ninja?"

Gin looked at him.

Wedge could feel the man's eyes on him like a cold blade on his throat.

"Ok." Came a light expression.

Wedge's eyes blinked in surprise, not expecting such a response.

The man threw off the Kusari-gama and Shuriken and tossed it aside.

"Normally we don't teach outsiders, but I can tell that you have an honest desire to learn our ways so in spirit you are of the Wutai."

Wedge stood straight as the man rolled his shoulders.

"Since our time is limited, you will have to think on your feet. I will take it easy on you and gradually increase my power and speed."

"What?" Wedge asked.

"First rule of fighting, always be ready!" Gin attacked.

XXXXX

Storm looked around from the top of the inn, staring at the statue on the mountain of a young woman with a strange outfit holding a large shuriken on her back.

"So tell me, who is that?" He asked.

A man seemed to materialize from thin air.

"Impressive, even though you don't have any training with Ninjitzu, you sensed me pretty quickly." The man said as he stood next to him.

"Well I'm not exactly average." Storm replied.

"True, you give off a malicious aura. One could almost say you're not human." The man extended a hand.

"Rin Kisaragi. The man you met is my father."

"Storm." He replied and took his hand.

"Impressive, he doesn't look like a man to have a son your age. You look no older than me."

"Thats the effects of intensive training for over 50 years. I'm almost 30 myself." Rin explained.

Storm was even more shocked at the age gap between them.

"Well you wanted to know about the statue, correct. That is one of the legendary heroes who saved Gaia from destruction many generations ago. Yuffie Kisaragi, we are her descendents and have made sure that we never forget what she had done to prevent Humanities' extinction."

"Well that's one advantage to keeping with the old ways. Everywhere else, their names are lost to time and forgotten memories." Storm explained.

"Yes, one must remember their history in order to build their future." Rin added.

"Very poetic. Thanks for the advice." Storm waved and jumped off the inn, falling five stories and landing into a kneel to brace his fall.

Rin looked down as Storm walked away.

"He certainly has skill. Maybe sometime I'll get to see what he's made of first-hand."

XXXXX

Wedge was breathing heavily. No matter how hard he tried or how fast he moved, he couldn't touch the man, and he was only using his bare hands.

"Dammit." He growled.

"Come on. That can't be all you have." Gin beckoned with a hand.

Wedge readied his claws.

"Ok, try this, HAA!!"

Gin's eyes widened as the attack cut through him the very boulder he had perched on earlier, splitting it in two.

Wedge's eye got even wider, seeing what he had done.

"Oh God, I thought you were gonna dodge it, so I... I..."

Gin transformed into a log that fell in two.

"Don't get so worked up about it."

Wedge turned to see Gin leaning against a wall.

"I did that to see what you were holding back this whole time."

Gin walked up to the boulder and whistled.

"Nice technique. Using the air with your cut to extend the range of your attack. Essentially having an invisible blade. How did you come about learning such a technique?"

"Well I've only been able to teach myself through reading books about ninjas." Wedge explained.

"And what do you call it?" Gin asked.

"That's my Razor Slash. It's my best move."

"A good one, but a ninja must have more than one ace up your sleeve. You can't win every battle as a one trick pony. Unfortunately I can't tell an outsider our secrets, but rest assured that you are well on your way to becoming a true Shinobi."

"Yes Master. Thank you."

Gin looked up as the sun began to set.

"Well it's getting late. You should be getting ready for tomorrow."

"I can still keep going." Wedge declared.

Gin laughed and patted Wedge on the back.

"You youngsters are so full of energy. Just take what I've taught you and sleep on it. You took a crash course so let your mind soak in what you've experienced."

Gin turned around.

"I'll catch you later, kid." He tossed a smoke bomb on the ground before it exploded.

When it cleared, he was gone.

"Awesome!" Wedge shouted.

XXXXX

Wedge made it to the inn. The first floor was a nice little restaurant/bar. Very oriental feel to it.

The group was all there, seeing what to do for tomorrow. Karin was still pissed, but Shri-Lanka had managed to keep her under control.

"Welcome back. So how was the training?" Carlos asked, drinking a large frothy mug of beer.

"Well I still got a long way to go, but he said I'd I'm capable of being a good ninja."

"That's good. You should get something to eat. We heard from people that there's a path through their mountains that can take us south on the Peninsula. Luckily it's built so that Chocobos can go through."

Wedge just shrugged as he took a seat and ordered a meal.

The rest of the night went peacefully for the group as they were asleep in their rooms.

XXXXX

"KABOOM!!!"

The group woke with a start, thinking they were being attacked.

"Hey wake up!" Came a voice from outside.

Gin burst through the window, tucked into a roll and stood up, waving a couple of small fans.

"The night is still young so lets enjoy the moonlight and celebrate!" He shouted.

"Celebrate? Celebrate what?" Karin asked. coming from another room, followed by Shri-Lanka.

"Well I could lie and say it's some sort of event, but I'm not so we're doing this because I felt like it." Gin replied.

"Well, See ya outside." He waved and jumped out of the window.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're not being asked?" Said Storm.

XXXXX

The sky was as bright as day from the fireworks exploding high into the air.

"Wow, it's so pretty." Karin exclaimed, the whole party watching from the roof of the inn.

Indeed everyone seemed to be enjoying the 'festival'. The locals danced and shot fireworks as if was already the new year.

Gin seem pleased.

"Hey Rin!"

His son landed next to him.

"Yes Father?"

"Why don't we finish off the night with something that will make our guests remember Wutai." He suggested.

Rin nodded and disappeared.

"Alright! Show all of Gaia what the power the Kisaragi Clan is capable of!"

Seconds later, the fireworks ended and the top of the tower was lighted, revealing Rin standing on the top roof.

"What's he going to do?" Shri-Lanka asked.

Gin just grinned.

"You'll see."

Rin stood still, his eyes closed in concentration. He brought his hands together in front of him, creating a hand sign by grabbing his left two fingers with his right hand and sticking out his right two fingers.

Carlos's looked in complete awe at the man.

"His Ki is skyrocketing. I've never felt so much power before."

Gin looked over at the man.

"Yes, Rin is one of Wutai's strongest warriors. So watch carefully. You wouldn't want to miss something like this."

Rin's hands began to move in a blur as more hand signs were formed.

"Kisaragi Ultimate Style! Phoenix Flame!"

An aura of bright fire surrounded him before shooting into the air, changing into the form of a bird as big as the tower itself.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as it spread its wings and flew across the village in a scene of dazzling beauty before it rose into the sky and disappeared into the night sky.

"That was a summon!" Karin shouted.

Carlos shook his head.

"No, that was just Rin's Ki."

"Yes that was no summon. Rin used a secret technique to create fire without Materia. The Beast of Rebirth was destroyed long ago by our Clan. It rampaged throughout our region as if possessed. We fought back and managed to destroy it at the cost of many lives. We respected its power and thus we honor its memory through our techniques." Gin explained.

Rin appeared next to his father.

"So how was it?" He asked.

"Good, son. But not as strong as me though." He grabbed his boy in a headlock.

"Yeah right, old man." Rin got his father in his own headlock and both began to play.

Their childish actions appeared humorous as the party laughed, ending the night for the village.

XXXXX

Morning came and the group was sent off by the entire town.

The group bid farewell to Gin and Rin who respectfully bowed to them.

"We wish you safe passage on your journey. These Chocobos should make your trip easier." Gin said, having given them each a Chocobo.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality." Karin said.

"No problem, but just a word of caution. There is a man who lives in the mountains. A samurai who doesn't take kindly to trespassers and kills whoever invades his land. He also gives off the same presence as your trinkets."

_"Whoops, looks like we got spotted." _Ramuh said amusingly.

Gin was surprised at the voice, but pushed it aside.

"Well that's about as much as we know. He keeps to himself pretty much so we've had no real incident with him. Of course I think you can handle yourselves pretty well."

"We understand." Karin said as they motioned the Chocobos towards the mountains.

"Hey KID!" Gin shouted.

Wedge turned around to see a scroll tossed at him. He looked at it with a confused look.

"I said that I couldn't tell you our secrets. I never said anything about writing them. These should help you get started on the Path of the Ninja."

Wedge's eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at the paper in his hand.

"Thank you, Master Gin! Thank you so much!" He bowed his head.

"Just keep pursuing you dream. Maybe someday, you can come back for some real ninja training."

Wedge turned to catch up with the group.

"Oh and by the way!" Gin shouted.

Wedge looked back.

"Watch yourself! That Samurai,... he really hates ninjas!"

The Demi went a little pale before turning back.

XXXXX

High above the group, the chilling winds whistled shrilly over a cliff that watched over Wutai.

A sandaled foot stomped the edge, tossing a patch of snow that floated away with the wind.

A figure was watching them, his outline shaded by the white overcast of white surrounding him.

"Impudent fools." Was all he said before he turned and disappeared into the white.

XXXXX

The group slowly made it up the mountain, the trail clear but steep. It was safer to take the trail slowly with it being so narrow.

"Well this sucks." Carlos said as he caught a gust of cold air.

"Quit whining. It's not that bad." Said Shri-Lanka said as her long hair swayed with the wind.

Wedge hung in the back, engrossed in the scroll that Gin gave him.

The scroll was written in the Wutai's native language, but luckily, Gin was kind enough to translate the techniques.

"Ok, Kawarimi no Jutsu, The Substitution technique..."

_The art of replacing oneself with an object, thus averting one of harm and surprising the enemy for a possible counterattack._

He continued to read to himself as he continued down the scroll.

As they went higher, the wind began to howl louder and pick up strength.

Visibility was getting worse for them and the Chocobos were slipping on the slopes, getting dangerously close to the edge.

"We've got to find a place to break this blizzard til it dies down! Otherwise we won't make it through!" Talon shouted over the wind.

Karin peered through the blizzard and could just make out a patch of ground that the wind wasn't reaching.

"Hey! I can see a clearing! It's not much further!" She shouted.

The group continued til they reached the clearing, which was a rather large flat area that little snow had settled on.

"Phew, at least we're not in that blizzard anymore." Carlos said as they got off their mounts to let them rest.

"So I guess we just have to wait til this blizzard dies down." Storm said as he took a look around.

"You'll be the ones who will be dying !" Echoed a loud voice.

Everyone looked towards the sound as the path behind them was suddenly hit by a massive blow, throwing snow high into the air.

"What the...!" They said before the path in front of them also exploded, both exits blocked off.

"I do not like uninvited people trespassing into my domain." Said a man who stepped out from the cloud of snow in front of them.

The man wore a Coolie that covered his long white hair and a black and white kamishimo style outfit without the top (similar to Kenshin Imura). Despite the cold, his feet were wearing only wooden clogs which echoed with every step he took.

On him were three swords. One a Katana, one a Nodachi, both which were worn on his belt, and a third which was strapped to his back. It looked different from the others. It was large as he was, solid black, and viciously curved as if it were more suited for a devil to wield it than a man.

"Now all of you will die for your impertinence. There is no mercy for Human filth." He said as he slowly unsheathed the Katana.

"Man this guy really cuts to the chase doesn't he." Talon as he placed a bolt in his crossbow.

"Just had to throw in a bad pun, didn't you." Storm as he readied his swords.

Talon momentarily got angry, but managed to keep his cool per their agreement.

_"Uh oh, this isn't good." _Shiva mentioned.

"What do you mean?" Shri-Lanka asked.

_"Looks like the Samurai they mentioned was in fact Yojimbo." _Said Ramuh.

"Yojimbo?" They all said.

Ifrit seemed really irritated at this.

_"A very powerful summon created from the spirit of a swordsman of ancient times. So he's been here for all these centuries. This could be a problem."_

"Is he strong?" Storm asked.

_"Compared to the others, he's among the strongest. This won't be an easy fight, of course I don't remember him having three swords." _ Ramuh added.

Yojimbo spat out in distaste.

"I can't believe that you three are involved with these vermin. To think after what they've done to our kind and you still side with them."

_"Well there are circumstances...." _Shiva began.

"LIke I care what traitors have to say." The man cut in as he got into a stance.

"You'll die along with the Mortals.

Everyone got ready to fight.

_"Wait." _Ifrit told them.

The three appeared in front of the group.

"We'll handle this."

"What? Why?" Karin asked.

"He's way beyond your level of power. Even we're not sure how we'll stand up to him since we've been sealed in that mountain for all this time." Shiva explained.

Ramuh rolled a shoulder with his free arm as his pole rested in the other.

"Well we won't know until we find out." He laughed briefly before his face turned serious.

The four prepared as the blizzard finally ceased, making the deadly situation appear almost beautiful as the sun's ray pierced the clouds.

A lone ray struck Yojimbo's sword, causing it to flicker.

With a great roar, they charged one another.

Ramuh leaped into the air and landed to meet the Samurai first, raising his staff to block Yojimbo's downward strike with a loud clang.

Yojimbo turned to swing across, but Ramuh managed to block it again.

The old man was then kicked away as Ifrit and Shiva followed with their own attacks.

Shiva's body was as hard as the strongest permafrost so she used hand-to-hand combat.

Ifrit's massive body was amazingly agile as the two double-teamed him, pushing him on the defensive.

Despite their pressing attack, Yojimbo's lone blade was blocking every single attack they threw at him.

Ifrit raised a paw high into the air and slammed it down, which the man raised his sword to block.

Shiva then closed in and slammed a strong kick to his side, knocking him into the mountainside.

"Get back!" Ramuh shouted as lightning crackled around him as he raised his staff towards the sky, the clouds becoming black as night.

"Judgment!" He cried as he aimed his staff at Yojimbo as huge bolts of lightning shot down from the heavens.

Yojimbo jumped away and proceeded to outrun each bolt as they struck the ground with devastating force.

Ramuh was astonished at the man's speed.

Yojimbo stopped as he raised the sword in front of his face, blue light shined around it.

"Get behind me!" Shiva shouted at the two which they did.

"1000 Kings!" He shouted and aimed the tip towards them.

"Glacier Wall!" Shiva slammed her hands on the ground as a massive wall of ice rose into the sky which then shattered by what looked like invisible sword strikes.

"Thanks, who knows what would have happened if that had actually hit.

Yojimbo was slightly pleased at what happened.

"I'm impressed that you withstood the attack of my Masamune. No one have ever survived it before so at the very least I congratulate you for that. Now I must end this." Then he attacked.

Ifrit gathered fire in his mouth which glowed with intense heat.

"Meteor Shot!" And unleashed a barrage of fireballs, which Yojimbo dodged, not even slowed by the attack.

Ramuh jumped in and began to spin his staff like a windmill, swinging it side to side, stopping Yojimbo to where he had to fight back.

Their weapons were blurs to the eye as metal struck metal in a symphony of battle.

"I expected better from you three. Let me show you how big the gap is between us."

Yojimbo shifted the blade in his hand and countered Ramuh's staff.

The old man ceased moving, a look of surprised on his face.

The staff snapped in two between his hands.

The others didn't know what had happened until blood sprayed from Ramuh's chest as he let out a groan and collapsed.

"Ramuh!" Everyone shouted.

Yojimbo slung the blood off his blade and stepped over Ramuh as the blood pooled from the wound.

"And then there were only two."

"Damn you!" Shiva and Ifrit shouted and charged, attacking him with everything they had, but Yojimbo seemed to have gotten serious as he blocked and countered effortlessly.

In moments, both were bleeding from the gashes they had received and breathing heavily, and Yojimbo with no a single mark on him.

"Is this all you can offer?" He asked.

Shiva now was really pissed as a blizzard seeming to explode all around her.

"You will pay for what you've done! I swear it!" She declared as she aimed her hands right at him as pure white energy manifested from them.

Yojimbo casually sheathed his Katana and brought forth his Nodachi as dark crimson energy was summoned from it.

"Diamond Dust!" She invoked and fired a beam of white energy.

Yojimbo raised the blade above his head as he grasped it with both hands as the wave approached him.

"Onii-Sama Slash!" And he swung down, a crescent wave of red energy collided with Shiva's, tearing right through it.

After the light faded, Shiva's beam had materialized into ice, split in half by Yojimbo's attack, which left a deep trench from its power.

Everyone saw Shiva's eyes staring in shock for a moment before blood sprayed from a long cut across her body as she too collapsed.

"Shiva!" Ifrit shouted before he turned his attention towards the samurai.

"Looks like my Muramasa took her out in one shot. Now prepare to follow them to the afterlife." Yojimbo said as he switched out for the Katana.

"You bastard!!" Ifrit's rage erupted into an inferno of fire around him.

"Now die!" Yojimbo shouted and was about to charge.

Suddenly he found that he couldn't move.

"What the hell?" He looked down to see his feet covered in ice.

Shiva was still conscious as she lay on the ground, struggling with one hand, focusing all she had left to hold him in place.

"You bitch!" Yojimbo growled as he was about to break the ice.

"I don't think so!" Ramuh said as he grabbed Yojimbo from behind in a full nelson.

"Dammit why aren't you dead!?" He demanded.

"Unfinished business. Now Ifrit! Hit him with everything you've got!" Ramuh shouted.

"RRRAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Ifrit's aura encased him fully as he shot towards the sky and halted high above them.

"Hellfire!"

Within the aura, his body seemed to change, his fox form had altered itself to stand upright and his front and back paws extended into claws as he raised his hands into the air.

Above him a massive ball of raging fire exploded to life from his hands. To everyone, it looked as if he was holding the sun in his hands.

With a great heave, he launched the ball right at Yojimbo's open body.

"You fool!" Yojimbo shouted just before it struck them both and exploded.

Ramuh was sent flying backwards to land in a patch of snow.

"That's old fool to you." He laughed before passing out.

Ifrit roared as his aura exploded around him as he shot down like a flaming comet, colliding with incredible force at ground zero.

The explosion multiplied, vaporizing the surrounding snow with its blaze.

After the explosion faded, the two could be seen.

To everyone's surprised, Yojimbo's sword had pierced Ifrit's chest, sticking out from the beast's back.

Yojimbo pulled out the blade as the fox fell backwards, transforming into energy and returning to Storm.

"Damn. He's just too strong." Shiva groaned as she and Ramuh did the same.

"Don't worry about it. You fought well. We'll take it from here." Storm said.

"You managed to weaken him with that last attack. Now we'll show you what we're made of." Shri-Lanka declared as she readied her Naginata."

Yojimbo growled as his body was severely burned and his left arm hung limply at his side.

"Damn you all! You think I'll lose to trash like you!" He roared as blood dripped from his wounds.

"Looks to be that way." Wedge said as he readied his claws.

Yojimbo looked in the boy's direction and took him in, seeing a very distinct look which angered him.

"Ninja! You dare threaten me!" And with that he charged the boy in a rage.

Wedge then realized his mistake and instantly took off.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He shouted as the man caught up with him quickly.

"Your very existence is offensive to me! No amount of apologizing will save you from my blade!" He swung rapidly to cut the boy to shreds as Wedge frantically dodged them as he continued to retreat.

The demi had run out of ground as he reached the hill of snow Yojimbo had created to cut off their exit.

"Now die!" Yojimbo roared as he brought down the blade with all his might.

Wedge let out a cry of pain as the sword cut across his throat.

Yojimbo looked pleased til Wedge changed into a snowman.

"How in the hell?" He said as he turned around just in time to deflect a bolt from hitting him.

"Don't forget about us. I wouldn't want to feel left out." Talon said as he cocked back another bolt.

Yojimbo stared angrily at the group.

Wedge peeked out from behind them and flipped him off.

"You miserable insect! I will end your miserable existence before this day is out!"

"First you'll have to get through me." Shri-Lanka declared as she aimed her hand at him.

"Blizzara!"

A wave of ice spikes shot from the ground at her feet and continued to head towards the samurai.

Yojimbo jumped away before the spikes hit their mark.

"Attack!" Storm shouted and they all charged.

"Stupid Mortals. I'll take you all out at once." Yojimbo aimed his sword at them as it began to glow.

Storm stopped as he aimed his hands at Yojimbo.

"Fira!" He chanted before a streak of fire shot from them.

Yojimbo's eyes widened in surprise as the fire engulfed him.

"Damn it! Those traitors damaged me more than I thought." He growled as he landed on the ground to meet Shri-Lanka bringing up her blade in a powerful slash.

Yojimbo blocked it and grunted from the blow, causing his blade to shake.

"Such monstrous strength."

Carlos came from above as Shri-Lanka caused him to block with his one good arm.

"Hyyaaa!" He shouted and kicked the samurai across the face, snapping the man's head to the side violently.

"You piece of garbage!" He swung Shri-Lanka away and went offensive against the group.

"I'll kill every single one of you I swear it!" He shouted in anger as he readied his blade.

"1000 Kings!" He shouted.

Karin had been preparing her spell in the back.

"Barrier!"

A dome erected around them, weakening his lethal attack to only minor damage.

Talon aimed his crossbow and fired, striking the samurai in his left shoulder.

Yojimbo howled in agony as he grabbed the bolt.

"Thundara!" Carlos shouted as an electric storm hovered above Yojimbo and sent a tendril of lightning bolts down.

_"Nice try. Even with this damage I can still dodge it." _He thought as he sprinted away.

The bolt suddenly changed course and followed the man.

"What!" The samurai said as he was hit, hitting his body with millions of volts as he cried out in agony.

"How? I know for sure that I dodged it. There's no way that it should have hit me." He said.

"That's because we made sure that it would hit you." Storm pointed out.

"Huh?" Yojimbo looked at the bolt that Storm was pointing at, which was solid metal.

"No matter where you go, as long as that steel arrow is in you, Carlos here can hit you every time he casts a thunder spell." The man explained.

_"I don't understand. We were fighting for our lives to even survive against him, yet you are making it look so easy. Even if we injured him, he shouldn't be this weak." _Ifrit stated.

"Well what did you think we were doing while you three were fighting?" Storm asked.

"We were planning. We knew our chances of beating him would be slim to none, so we had to come up with a way to increase our chances with teamwork and numbers." Talon explained.

_"Impressive. If only we had thought of something like that sooner we wouldn't have turned out so bad." _Ramuh chuckled.

_"Shut up, Ramuh"_ Shiva shouted.

_"Oh, testy aren't we?"_ The man chuckled again.

Yojimbo tore the bolt from his shoulder and tossed it on the ground.

"Looks like he wants some more." Storm said.

Yojimbo growled as he cast away his Katana.

"I'm tired of being made a fool of by you insolent dogs!"

He reached over his head and grabbed the hilt of the black sword behind him, pulling it from its straps to show its vicious edge.

Yojimbo's aura seemed to change into an eerie black as if the Grim Reaper now stood before them.

"Now perish into despair!" The aura grew violent, cracking the ground from the pressure and pushing the group back with its force.

"Ichtouryu Iai! Zantetsuken!"

Something whistled passed them right for Yojimbo, striking the sword and knocking the man off balance in surprise.

Everyone looked back to see Gin and Rin standing on top of the hill of snow.

Gin caught the returning Shuriken and looked down with a smile.

"Need some help? My Midnight Sun should do the trick." He said cheerily.

"Master Kisaragi!" Wedge shouted.

"Go Wedge, show him what you learned from your training!" Gin told him.

"Right, Master!" Wedge didn't hesitate as he charged right for the samurai in a blur of motion as he yelled a battlecry.

Yojimbo regained his footing and saw the boy heading right for him in a suicide rush.

"You Mortals never cease to amaze me with your stupidity. You will be the first to taste death by my hand."

Yojimbo brought the sword to his left side.

The massive sword seemed to vanish with the speed of the attack.

Wedge was cut cleanly, but split into two halves of a large stone.

Yojimbo couldn't believe his eyes.

"Not again?"

Wedge appeared into view behind the man.

"Tempest...!"

Yojimbo turned to counter.

Wedge's body seemed to distort as if a heat wave was surrounding him before he disappeared, reappearing several feet on the other side.

"VOID!" He shouted, claws dripping blood.

Yojimbo was frozen in mid swing as if time had stopped.

The immediate area around the samurai erupted with destruction as the boy's attack of countless strikes happened in an instant. The ground was razed and Yojimbo's body sprayed with blood as claw marks began to appear for several seconds after the attack was over.

Yojimbo groaned as he dropped his sword and collapsed to his knees, defeated.

Gin clapped his hands enthusiastically at the sight.

"Well done. To think you're already adept at the Kawarimi no jutsu so quickly. I must say that you are going to be a great ninja someday."

Yojimbo groaned as he turned with great pain to see the boy that had struck him down.

"I never knew there existed a being that could surpass the speed of sound. To think that a ninja would be the one to defeat me. This shameful defeat is too embarrassing to continue living."

Yojimbo unsheathed his Nodachi and held the blade to his stomach, which Wedge knocked away.

"Don't think you're getting off that easily. Plus you have this whole Samurai/Ninja grudge mindset going on and it's seriously beginning to be a pain in the ass."

Yojimbo chuckled a little at the irony of a ninja sparing his life.

"So you think my honor is so meaningless that you won't even let me die?" He asked.

"Wrong, but you're holding onto a long extinct era." Wedge stated.

"Doesn't change the fact that you mortals tried to wipe out my kind and even converted some into tools of war."

"Then hate for that reason. But also realize that those who did are long since dead, Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh can testify to that as they were imprisoned for centuries before we managed to break them out."

The man seemed surprised as he looked at them.

"Is this true?"

_"Sadly, yes. Sealed away in a mountain until this group freed us. That is why we are with them as our saviors as well as our guides to this changed world." _Shiva explained.

Yojimbo looked down at the ground.

"Please forgive me. My anger for your kind couldn't be quelled even by these cold mountains. I lost all sense of time since I came here so long ago after Odin was destroyed by their hands."

_"So that is Odin's Sword."_ Ramuh stated.

"Yes, being a fellow swordsman, we fought together in that war so long ago. Odin was crippled by a powerful materia during our last battle. Rather face capture, he gave me his sword to keep the enemy from taking and in abiding his wish, I was forced to run, leaving him to die."

"_Odin was so powerful, to think that he could fall is unbelievable."_ Ifrit said.

"Aside from the strongest Beasts like Bahamut and the 13 Knights, I thought I was the only survivor of that war. Since then, I never left this mountain out of shame."

Karin walked up to Yojimbo and knelt down, causing him to look up at her.

"I can see that you've gone through much pain. The world has changed much since that war so please don't burden yourself with such thoughts anymore. Now you know that you aren't alone."

The samurai nodded and made great effort to stand on his own.

"Very well. I will join you. I know this mountain better than anyone so I will guide you through it."

"Thank you very much." Karin bowed deeply.

Yojimbo looked down at Wedge.

"What's your name?"

"Wedge." He replied.

"Well Wedge. As you are the first to defeat me, I will lend you my power. Call upon me whenever you need me." Yojimbo said, changing in a flash of light to appear as a sheathed Katana on the boy's back.

"Sweet." Wedge said.

"Well all's well that ends well." Gin said as he walked up to the group.

"Glad to could make it." Storm said.

"Well from the looks of it, you guys were having a lotta fun so we decided to join in." The man said with a wink.

"Well that explains why the Phoenix was so violent. It was being controlled against its will." Rin stated.

Gin surveyed the trail.

"Well the blizzard has passed so I suggest that you get through should it start picking up again." He said.

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Storm said as they got back on their chocobos.

"See ya around." He waved as they made their way over the snow.

"Sayonara!" Gin and Rin shouted at their retreating forms.

"What an interesting group? I can tell that something big is about it happen with them." Rin said as they headed back to Wutai.

"Yeah, makes me want to see what's gonna happen, but... The responsibilities of being Leader come first." Gin laughed.

"You know I could take over. You are getting kinda old." His son suggested.

"PShhhh. In your dreams."

(Yojimbo's attack was an attempt at making my own Japanese pun as they always make them through mistranslations between hiragana and katakana. Onii-meaning brother and Oni-meaning demon. As they sound similar, the attack can be translated as Big brother Slash or Demon Lord Slash. Just my own little _stab_ at humor. Oops, I did it again.)


	7. Past Meets Present

PAST MEETS PRESENT

With Yojimbo's help through the mountains, the party reached the end of the peninsula within a day.

"Well look who's here." Carlos said as they reached the beach.

Waiting for them, standing at the bow of the Quicksilver, stood Cid.

"Long time no see. Seems that you survived the trip!" Cid laughed as he jumped off, landing on the sand.

"How did you know that we were coming?" Storm asked.

"I gave him a call when we were in Wutai." Shri-Lanka answered.

"And here I am." The older man noticed Talon and eyed him curiously as he aimed his cigar at him.

"So who's the new guy?" He asked.

"This is Talon. We ran into him a couple of days ago." Karin explained.

"Does he have any money?" The rest of you are covered, but I can't let anybody on unless they can pay." He made clear as he took a drag of his cigar.

"Well I'm not one for burdening people so I think I can front you my share. So how much?" Talon reached into his shirt.

"25,000 gil."

The normally suave Talon looked at the man with an astounded look and made a sound that was like he was choking.

"25,000! That's highway robbery! I can't pay that!" He shouted.

"Well sucks to be you. I guess this is where you get off." Storm said as he walked by Talon, who gave him a death glare.

"Wait. I'll pay for his ride."

"What!" Both men said as they looked at Karin.

Talon regained his bearing as he took a knee before taking her hand.

"Truly, from the bottom of my heart, from the deepest part of my soul, I thank you. I am forever indebted to you."

He kissed it gently, making the woman blush with embarrassment.

"Please, there's no need to thank me." She said as he stood up.

Storm couldn't believe that Karin was actually paying to bring that shallow, egotistical asshole with them.

"Well alright then. Lets head back to Dias." Cid said as everyone got on board.

Storm and Talon were the last to get on board.

"Well, looks like you're not gonna get rid of me that easily." Talon said with an arrogant smirk.

"Just watch yourself. Your tongue might have gotten you out of this, bgut the second you do anything to hurt them, you won't live long enough to worry about the consequences." Storm warned.

"Duely noted. Now lets get going, shall we?" Talon patted Storm on the back and got on board.

Storm grinded his teeth together.

"I really hate that guy."

XXXXX

The Quicksilver roared as it shot across the water.

"Wow, this ship is fast." Talon said as he checked out the Captain's Room.

"Impressed? She's unlike any other on the sea. I made her from the best material money can buy." Cid said proudly.

"So is there any other ship that is good enough to match it?"

"Well there is one that can do that." Cid said.

"Is it big and gold?" Talon asked.

"Yeah, that's the Gold Saucer. Why?"

"Cause I think it's heading right for us."

Cid's eyes got big as he turned to see where Talon was pointing.

The battleship indeed was on their left coming right for them at top speed.

"Damn, they must have followed me." Cid growled as he grabbed the mic.

"Attention on deck! The Gold Saucer is on the port side! Get ready everyone! I think they're coming back for round 2!"  
"What side?" Said Wedge.

"The left side! The left side!" Cid shouted.

"Why didn't you say so!" The demi shouted back.

Cid was ready as he unleashed his 30 mm cannons at the bow.

"I knew you'd come back so I put on some extra firepower for ya!"  
Two more holes opened up and two missile launchers, each one carrying a payload of 4 radar-guided missiles.

"Now let me line you up for a clear shot." Cid looked at a scope with a target reticule aimed right at the Gold Saucer.

As he did, he had a look of confusion on his face.

"What the hell are they doing? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they were..."

Then he realized.

"Everyone strap yourselves in! They're gonna ram us!"

The group followed his command and strapped in.

"You think you're gonna take me without a fight! Fuck you!"

Cid launched all eight warheads at the ship as well as firing his 30 mm machine guns.

Despite the barrage , the ship continued on its course.

"Brace for impact!"  
The two ship collided, the Quicksilver cut in half as the Gold Saucer rammed its side.

Metal shrieked from both ships, but the Gold Saucer's larger frame held intact as it exited from the other side, not even slowing down, leaving the Quicksilver to sink into the water.

XXXXX

The ocean's waves washed the Quicksilver's debris ashore, all that remained of the great ship.

There was no sign of life as the water silently washed the beach.

Storm and Karin gasped for air as they broke the surface.

Both were holding onto one another as they struggled the last few meters and collapsed on the dry land.

The others also began to surface and made their way to the shore.

"Everybody okay?" Storm asked.

"We're alive if that's what's you're asking.' Shri-Lanka replied.

"That was a close one." Ramuh said with a little humor.

"For us, maybe. Aren't you guys immortal or something?" Carlos asked.

"In a manner of speaking. Elements in their natural state don't affect us (non-spells)." Yojimbo replied.

"Is it just me or am I hearing voices?" Cid asked as he knocked some water out of his ear.

"Oh yeah, we didn't tell you what we found in the Fallen PLains." Shri-Lanka said.

The Beasts introduced themselves to the man, who was a little surprised.

"Well guess it's too late to charge ya for stowin away on my ship. God damn pirates." Cid muttered as he threw away his soggy cigar and brought out a case from his jacket, which had dry cigars, biting off the end of one.

He pulled out a box of matches, but they were ruined by the salt water.

"Damn piece of shit." He growled and threw the matches down in rage.

Cid was surprised as Storm placed his hand underneath the cigar, creating a small plume of fire.

He leaned into the fire and took a few puffs to let it catch.

"Thanks." He said.

"Don't mention it." Storm helped Karin to her feet.

"But it looks like we'll have to go on foot from here. So I think we deserve a refund."

"Whadya say?" Cid asked.

"Well we did pay you to take us to Dias, but since we didn't get there by your ship. We should get our money back." Storm impled.

Cid walked up to him and gave him a hard glare, which Storm wasn't fazed by.

Cid took a few puffs of the cigar. Nobody saying anything with the tension in the air.

Cid suddenly fell into a fit of laughter, shocking everyone.

"You got me there, kid! Hahahaha! I did fail to hold my end of the bargain so what can I say! Of course I can only refund today. The rest was used for the Quicksilver's arsenal." Cid explained.

"That's enough." Storm replied.

Storm handed Karin back her payment.

Talon was surprised at what just happened, as were the others.

"I suggest we get moving incase that Cruiser comes back to see if we're still alive." Storm said as he headed inland.

"Good idea." Carlos said as they followed him.

XXXXX

Upon leaving the beach, the party ran into a bizarre array of bluffs and plateaus.

From a bird's eye view, one could say that it resembled a maze.

"Where are we?" Karin asked.

"Beats me. Never had to come this way before." Cid replied.

Shri-Lanka looked up at the rocky surface from its base.

"These walls are nearly vertical. Scaling them would be impossible without the proper gear." She stated.

"Well I guess that leaves walking the only option. It's too narrow for Ifrit to make it through." Said Storm.

"Awww." Ramuh whined.

"Do you want me to eat you, Old man." Ifrit growled.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Ramuh replied.

XXXXX

The group made their way through the maze of ravines and chasms, but ever since they entered, an uneasy feeling settled around them.

Every hole and cave posed a possible threat of an ambush.

High above them, a large body on four legs silently moved from shadow to shadow, watching them.

Wedge looked up and noticed a flicker of light, for a moment, he thought he saw fire at the end of a tail.

Shri-Lanka stopped, her eyes darting back and forth and behind them.

"Hold it, we're surrounded." She told them.

In that moment, dozens of feral wolves leaped from all directions, jumping from edge to edge until they landed around the group.

Everyone brought out their weapons.

"Stand back Cid. We'll take care of this." Storm said.

"What? And let you have all the fun?"

Cid reached into his jacket and pulled out a silver rod which extended from both ends to become a 7 foot trident.

"I can handle myself just fine."  
Storm looked back at the weapon which had a polished shine on its body.

"Fair enough."

The pack snarled and attacked.

Shri-Lanka unleashed her Blizzara, impaling several wolves on its spikes.

Talon cast Aerora, which was a concentrated ball of air that exploded violently when it struck a group, knocking them into the chasm walls.

Karin threw a vial of green powder which exploded, covering the wolves, confusing them as they started to mistakenly attack each other.

Carlos used his martial arts to take care of any wolves that dared attack him.

Wedge was pounced on by several wolves, which turned into explosives in his place before detonating.

"Take that you dumb mutts!" Wedge shouted at the fireball.

Storm shifted out of every lunge they tried, stabbing vital areas with his blades as they passed, the animals spilling blood behind them as they collapsed in a heap.

Cid was crowing like a rooster as he jabbed the butt of his trident into the throat of a wolf and turned to impale another in the chest, swinging his weapon to throw the beast into another.

"Whoohoo! Come on! Bring it!" He dared as he fiddled with his goggles.

The group was faring well, but their numbers weren't dwindling.

"Don't these guys know when to quit?" Carlos said.

"Doesn't look like it." Shri-Lanka replied as they were getting pushed into a corner.

"Need some help?" Shiva asked.

"Thanks, but with your powers, this entire place would collapse right on top of us." Storm warned.

"Well better think of something fast. Otherwise you're gonna be dog food." Said Ifrit.

A large shadow covered them and they looked up to see a very big lion sail over them, landing between them and the wolves.

It was as big as a horse with dark red fur and a single feather sticking from an Indian headband.

The lion let out a tremendous roar that caused the ground to shake.

The wolves backed away, but didn't retreat as both sides growl threateningly at each other.

"Follow me." Came a voice.

They turned to see another lion.

"This way, hurry." He motioned with his head before running off.

"Do what he says!" Ordered the other lion. "I can handle these guys myself!"

With a roar, he charged, barreling through the pack, swatting and biting every wolf in reach.

"Lets go. We don't have another option." Karin said and they followed the lion.

The lion was waiting for them.

"Come on." He said and ran down a corridor.

Even though they went deeper into the maze, the lion never left their sight, making sure they could see him.

"We're almost there!" His voice echoed as he disappeared through a dark cavern.

As they followed, only the light from his tail gave him away as it guided them through the darkness.

In minutes, they reached an exit that overlooked a single passageway.

The lion was standing next to them as he pointed with his paw. He was considerably smaller than the other, as tall as they were at the shoulder.

"The way out is through there. It's not much further." He leaped down the side of the wall, sliding down its surface.

The party followed him, carefully making their way to the passage.

As they continued down the corridor, they noticed a statue of another lion overlooking the path.

It seemed odd as it was pierced with many arrows.

The reached a doorway that was left open. They entered and the lion shut it behind them.

"You'll be safe here." He said as he walked up a stairway.

The group looked around, seeing that the place looked more suited for people to live in. Doors leading into stores, a bridge, tables and chairs as well.

The only thing was, there were no people. It looked... deserted.

They followed their guide outside to a tower with a large telescope aimed at the sky.

The lion nudged the door open and walked inside.

"Someone's been expecting you."

The tower was quite large with dim lights illuminating the room.

At this point, they were wondering who it was.

The lion walked to the other side of the room, disappearing behind the telescope.

"They're here, Dad."

The group heard movement and saw a large figure walk around the telescope.

"So we meet at last. Welcome to Cosmo Canyon." It spoke.

The one speaking was as large as the other lion, but his chin and parts of his small mane were touched with gray, showing his elderly stature. But the biggest difference was the number 13 tattooed in Roman numerals on his right shoulder and he was blind in one eye.

"I am Nanaki, but call me Red XIII. You've already met my sons, Jessie and James."  
Jessie sat next to his father.

"Hello." He said.

"Yo." James said as he came from behind them.

"Any trouble handling The Pack?" Red XIII asked.

"Not really Pops. Without their leader, they're all bark and no bite." James said as he laid down to relax.

"So these are the guys? I'm not impressed."

Red gave his son a stern glare.

"Please forgive James. He's like that around new people."

"That's fine, but why were you waiting for us?" Karin asked.

"And why do you act like you know us?" Talon asked.

"I do, well more specifically, your ancestors." Red XIII answered.

"Our ancestors?" Wedge said.

"Exactly, but some of you I've never seen before."

Red walked up to the group, his great size somewhat intimidating as he sniffed them individually.

He sat down again as if deciding what he should say.

"Lets start from the beginning. Many years ago, this world faced a danger much like it is today. One man almost destroyed our planet with the most powerful magic, Meteor. That man had more power than any one man could possess. His name was Sephiroth. But thanks to the strength of a powerful group, he was stopped."

Red XIII paused a moment.

"You are the descendants from members of that group."

"How do you know all of this?" Karin asked.

"Because I'm one of them." He answered.

"No way, you'd have to be..." Carlos said.

"Over 800 years old." Red finished.

Cid nearly dropped his cigar out of shock.

"My kind age slower than you. I've still got another 200 years left in me." Red XIII chuckled a little.

"Since then, I have vowed to watch over their children. As the years went by, I watched as this world changed. Midgard, the one place that was affected by Meteor, become the center of the world."

"What is he talking about?" Wedge asked.

"He means Dias." Shri-Lanka answered.

"And I've watched every generation, checking on them occasionally as they lived out their lives."

Red's eye landed on Cid.

"Cid the 24th. You're the spitting image of Cid the 3rd. Down to the same brand of cigars. You're also an avid flyer."

Cid laughed as he scratched his head.

"You have been watching us. Of course I haven't flown in over five years."

"Karin Sinclair, Princess over all of Gaia. I can see the Mako energy in your eyes. The descendant of our world's savior, Cloud Strife. I am sorry about your father, he was a good man."

Karin nodded. " Thank you."

"Carlos Lockheart. Descendant of Tifa Lockheart. Nice to see that you share her passion for martial arts."

"Thanks." He said.

"Finally. You I lost track of after your hometown was destroyed. Until recently, I had thought the entire Valentine Bloodline was lost."

"Valentine? Why does that sound so familiar?" Shri-Lanka said out loud.

Karin looked at Storm with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"You're name is Valentine?"

"Yeah, of course you probably know it from my big brother, Kain."

"Kain Valentine." Carlos nearly knocked over everybody to reach Storm.

"THE Kain Valentine?" The Legendary Rey Slayer? The man who single-handedly stopped Doomsday?"

"That's my brother." Storm confirmed.

"I mean, he's a hero. I never would have guessed that you were related to him."

"More like a Martyr. I was young when he died. If he hadn't come home when he did, I could have died back then."

Storm clenched his fist tightly.

"I've thought of nothing but making them pay for my brother's death. I swear I'll make them pay."

Red looked at Storm's fist as black fire encircled it and snaked its way up his arm.

"Calm down, Storm. If you let your anger take over, you'll lose control of that power and become a raging beast with no sense of friend or foe. Now calm down." He commanded.

Storm took a few deep breaths and the fire receded.

"Seems that the Vincent's power is still strong after so many generations. All thanks to that psycho Professor Hojo, the transformations in your ancestor's body are embedded into your genetic structure. Most never used its power, but now is a time when it is needed again."

Storm said nothing, just turned around and left.

Karin followed him out.

"Guess he can't handle the pressure." James said.

Red sighed as he watched them leave.

"Give him time. His road to vengeance will bring him nothing but destruction. All of them have a bigger part to play in this war than they realize."

XXXXX

The cool night air kissed the once vibrant town as the stars shined brightly in the cloudless sky.

Karin searched the area, finally finding Storm sitting on a rocky ledge that overlooked the town.

"Found you." She said as she walked up to him.

Storm fidgeted with one of his swords, poking the ground in irritation.

"Mind if I sit?" She asked.

Storm stopped poking the ground and put his sword away.

Karin took it as an invitation and sat next to him, letting her legs swing back and forth over the edge.

For a while, neither of them spoke. It seemed like an eternity of silence between them.

"I'm sorry... for the way I acted earlier." Storm finally said.

"Well finding out about your ancestors was pretty big for us. But I wasn't expecting you to be the little brother of Kain Valentine. Aside from my father, he was the most well know name in all of Gaia. He was called the World's Most Powerful Man."

"Kinda hard to live up to the name of Valentine huh?"

"So you were envious of your brother?"

Storm let out a light chuckle.

"Envy? No, just the opposite, like everyone else, I idolized him. When our parents died, he made sure that we were taken care of. Even taking military contracts for money."

He paused for a minute.

"I can see that is why Doomsday came to be. It was a challenge. My brother did everything he could to stay out of the war, but it looked like one of the Reys wanted to fight him. Either to measure him or kill him to show that not even our strongest could beat them. My brother won won, but at the cost of his life."

"Sounds like you should be proud of him."

"I am, but that's the problem. I'm almost as old as he was when he died and I'm not even one tenth his strength. I can't even transform."

"What are you talking about? I've seen you change before."

"No, at most I can briefly use that power, but I haven't been able to completely transform. As much as I want to avenge Kain's death, I can't match their power."

Karin saw that Storm thought he couldn't meet his brother's expectations.

"Maybe it doesn't have to come to that. This war has gone on for too long. I know as long as we're at war, people will continue to die and only lead to senseless bloodshed. I want to make a treaty between our people in order to prevent this from happening again."

Storm nodded.

"We both have our reasons for going to Terra. Lets just see which of our goals can be accomplished."

Jessie approached them.

"My father has asked for your presence." He turned to head into town, which they followed.

Inside, the others were waiting, light flooding the tower now.

Red XIII began once everyone had gathered.

"Please forgive me if my words seemed offensive. There are beds for you to rest at the Inn."

"Thank you very much." Karin bowed in respect.

"But something tells me that you didn't bring us here to tell us that." Said Shri-Lanka.

The large lion nodded.

"I have something to show you." He walked towards the wall and pressed a switch.

"Please don't move." He said.

Suddenly, the ground shifted and began to levitate, taking them to a higher floor.

At first, everything was dark before light filled it, momentarily blinding everyone.

When they opened their eyes, they saw a display of weaponry on the walls.

"These are the momentos of your ancestors. These weapons were used to defeat Sephiroth so long ago. They could prove useful for your future battles."

Each weapon had their previous owner's name engraved beneath them. The only ones missing were Red's and Yuffie Kisaragi's. Red was wearing his and Gin retrieved it years ago where it resides in Wutai.

Carlos took his ancestor's Premium Heart and inspected it closely. The condition was almost perfect.

Cid inspected his ancestor's Venus Gospel, testing its weight and balance.

"Fine piece of work.

Storm looked at the Death Penalty, but didn't reach for it.

Red stood next to him.

"Something the matter?"

"Not really, just that I didn't take my ancestor for using guns. Kain and I only use blade weapons."

He brough out his Raven Shredders.

"Hmmm, that's too bad really. The Death Penalty version of his Ceberus was and still is among the strongest firearms in the world. Vincent saved the world twice with it." Red explained.

Storm nodded as if understanding.

"I'll take it. I can find some use for it."

"By all means, it's yours."

Karin and Shri-Lanka looked at Cloud's Ultima Weapon.

"that's a big sword." Shri-Lanka said as its rainbow colored blade shimmered.

"But I can't use it. I'm not a warrior." Karin said.

"Yes, the Ultima Weapon has insurmountable power and it takes a skilled swordsman to wield it. But I think there is another weapon more suited for you."

Red led her to a staff with strange glyphs on it.

"The Princess Guard belonged to Aeris. She was of an extinct race of beings called the Ancients. She the only person who could use Holy, the only magic strong enough to stop Meteor. Because of that power, Sephiroth killed her. It took me years of searching the Temple of the Ancients to find it. I think it would be fitting if you were to have it."

Karin reached out and took it from its resting place.

As she did, something shined from the Ultima Weapon.

Red noticed the light.

"As for the rest, I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you." He apologized.

"That's alright. I prefer my Naginata anyway." Shri-Lanka replied.

Wedge seemed a bit disappointed.

Talon was indifferent.

"Now would you please head to the lift so that you may rest." Red insisted.

Everyone turned to leave, but Karin was cut off by the lion.

"Except you Princess."

The others heard him and turned back.

"Go ahead. It's alright." She assured them.

They obliged her wishes and left, leaving the two alone.

"Is there something you needed to speak with me?" She asked.

Red sat down before her.

"Not me, someone else would like to speak with you." He responded.

Karin seemed confused.

"Don't worry, he just wants to talk."

Red walked to the platform.

"When you are done. Just take the lift."

After Red and the platform returned, the light vanished and Karin found herself surrounded by plants and stars.

_"This is a hologram chamber."_ She thought.

"Greetings, Miss Karin."

"Who's there?" She demanded.

"That's not the right way to greet someone?" Said the voice.

Karin collected herself.

"Hello, Who are you?" She asked.

"In time, Miss Karin. I just want to say that I am intrigued by your words earlier. So you wish to make peace with those you are at war with?"

"Yes I do. Is there something wrong with that?" She asked.

"Not at all. I just wanted to see if what you say is truly what you believe. I can see that you are willing to risk your life to save your people. A fine quality for a leader."

"Thank you, but I find it hard talking to someone I can't see."

"Very well. If you insist."

From the far side of the room, a man appeared.

Karin watched as he approached her. When he came into full view, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Storm, what are you doing here?"

Storm looked at himself.

"So this is what I look like to you. The man with a demon inside of him."

Karin was really bewildered by the way he was acting.

"What are you talking about and how did you get in here, Storm. I saw you leave with the others."

"Lets keep this simple, shall we. I am not Storm, but rather the reflection of your heart." The doppelganger explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Karin's face blushing lightly.

The man smiled.

"It's impossible to hide from me. I am after all, the King of Beasts."

Karin couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"As all of us became sentient so long ago. I began to develope the ability to see a person's true self. I became the Mirror of the Soul, able to show a person their deepest desires. In doing so, I saw only desires of power and destruction in the hearts of men. Since then, I decided to wait until there was a person worthy of using my power."

Storm's body began to glow white as it grew and changed, the light so bright that Karin had to shield her eyes.

After the light faded, Karin now stood before the greatest summon in existence.

"Behold for I am the Dragon King, Bahamut!"

The great beast's massive frame filled the entire room, his powerful wings covered the ceiling as his black scales reflected the hologram's light.

"Miss Karin, I have seen that your heart is pure and just so I will bestow my power unto you."

Bahamut became a myriad of lights that encirlced he before converging on her hand, forming into a ruby studded ring.

"With me, you shall be able to use Ultima Material you carry at will."

"Really, thank you so much."

XXXXX

The group waited until Karin finally came down.

"So what happened up there?" Wedge asked.

"Looks like we got a new addition to the party." Yojimbo answered.

"How's it goin, Bahamut?" Long time no see." Said Ramuh.

"Stilla s annoying as ever, Ramuh."

"Bahamut!" Everyone shouted.

"Pleasure to meet all of you." Bahamut said.

"Well it's been a while. How long has it been?" Ifrit asked.

"I'd say over 300 years at least."

"That long huh?" Well it's nice to see a familiar face."

"Same here."

Red coughed politely to get everyone's attention.

"It's getting late. You'll need to rest for tomorrow."

Everyone agreed and turned in for the night.

XXXXX

That morning, everyone prepared for departure at the entrance of Cosmo Canyon.

"Thank you for you hospitality. I wish that there was something we can do to repay you." Karin said.

"Just end this war in my stead. It's time to pass the torch to the next generation."

Karin understood.

Red turned to Talon, Shri-Lanka, and Wedge.

"You, I give this."

To Wedge, he gave Speed Plus and Double Cut Materia.

Shri-Lanka he gave Death Blow and Elemental Materia.

Talon he gave MP Boost and Slash All Materia.

"I hope they can be of use to you in the future."

Wedge, Shri-Lanka, and Talon thanked him.

As everyone was leaving, Red stopped by Storm for a moment as they walked side by side.

"Storm, you seem troubled by what I told you last night."

"No, not really. Just thinking about my brother, that's all.

Red nodded as if understanding.

"So you doubt your power. You know, Vincent actually hated the monsters he became. He even put himself in a coffin to hide from the outside world. But in time, he realized that he could save the world with his power."

"What are you getting at?" Strom asked.

"When the time is right, you will realize that you have all the power you need."

"I hope you're right about that." Storm replied.

Red just grinned.

"Trust me."


	8. Skyward Bound

SKYWARD BOUND

"Attention on deck!"

Everyone snapped to attention as Admiral Stryker walked through the door.

"As you were." He said as he continued on his quick pace to the Command Center.

"Admiral Stryker, sir." Said a female officer who walked beside him.

"Lieutenant Dyson, what is it?" He asked.

"Just briefing you the specs of the Osiris. For the most part, it's a miracle that it was able to make it back to Dias without falling apart. The hull is critically damaged as well as the Eye of Odin. The core Materia is functioning normally, but the barrel sustained structural failures due to its rapid discharge."

"Thanks to the crew that we made it out of that in one piece and if I hadn't used the Eye of Odin when I had, the entire front line would have been wiped out."

"Understandable sir, but as it is, the Osiris is unable to be battle ready for at least a week."

The Admiral growled that he was grounded due to repairs, but he had no choice.

"Thanks for the report, Lieutenant. Keep me updated on its condition."

"Aye sir." Lieutenant Dyson saluted before letting him go.

Admiral Stryker reached the Command Center, its doors sliding open as he approached them.

"Glad you could make it, Stryker." Said an older man who greeted him with a hearty hand shake.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Fleet Admiral Lorn."

Stryker returned the shake before he looked around, seeing the numerous computer monitors all over the room.

"So what's your report?" Lorn asked.

"Well our side suffered heavy casualties thanks to Rey Alucard." Stryker said with bitterness.

"But thanks to the Eye of Odin, you managed to fight on even ground." Lorn stated.

"Barely. Our losses were far more severe than theirs. Right now, our only weapon against them is in need of repairs."

"Don't worry. We're currently working on another Mako Cannon and it's almost complete."

"Well we'll need all the firepower we can get in order to win this war."

"You're too tense about things, Stryker."

"And you're too easy going."

This just made to old man laugh.

XXXXX

After several days of traveling, Storm's group had finally reached Dias.

"It sure has been a while, eh Sis?" Said Wedge.

"Not that long, barely 2 weeks." She stated.

"So what city is this?" Bahamut asked.

"Dias, my hometown." Karin answered.

"Well we made it in one piece. So what do we do now?" Cid asked.

"I need to brief my superiors." Shri-Lanka answered.

Once inside the outskirts of the city, Shri-Lanka led them through the maze of alleys til they reached a pile of rubble.

"Did you make a wrong turn?" Cid asked, eyeing several rats scampering in front of them.

The woman paid him no mind as she walked up to the far wall and pressed against it.

A pad moved and next to it, a keyboard came out with a screen displayed.

She pressed in the password and the keyboard retreated into the wall as the floor beneath the pile of rubble rose into the air, revealing a hidden passage.

"Inside." She said as they followed her.

As they walked, the floor appeared to be descending, taking them deep underground.

Storm and Carlos remembered the place where they had met The Order, seeing the three pedestals before them.

"I seek an audience with The Order!" Shri-Lanka shouted, her voice echoing in the large room.

Only silence answered her.

"Hmmm, this has never happened before."

She tried once again, but still no response.

"Maybe they're on vacation." Carlos suggested.

"No, something's wrong."

"Shri-Lanka went closer to inspect the pedestals.

A massive form tore down the pedestals like they were twigs and lunged.

Thanks to her quick reflexes, she narrowly jumped away as it tried to crush her.

"What the hell is that!" Cid shouted.

The form stepped closer, its footsteps shaking the ground from its size, in which they saw a gruesome sight.

The creature was gigantic and black, its bottom half a poor attempt at legs as they looked more like clay molds melting under the sun as its black liquid ran down its body.

Its right arm like a crab claw much too large for its body and its left, several tentacles wiggled from its elbow down.

The most surprising part was its head, or heads as it were. One a bull, one a bird, and one a human, completing the very ghastly Chimera creature.

The heads cried out in a combination of howls and roars.

"Everybody get ready!" Storm shouted.

Cid, Wedge Carlos, and Storm charged, surrounding the Chimera.

Storm and Wedge used their speed to score numerous hits on the monster before it had time to counter, which they avoided.

Carlo's fists surged with electricity as he leaped into the air and struck the bird across the face, causing it to shriek.

Cid jumped and impaled the bull head with his spear.

The Chimera roared and swung at him, which he narrowly avoided.

"Blizzara!"

"Aerora!"

Both Talon's and Shri-Lanka's attack hit the beast square in the chest.

"Ultima!" Karin invoked.

Everyone watched as the great spell erupted with incredible power, swallowing the monster in the explosion.

Talon was surprised by the level of magic that Karin just used.

"Such power she possessed I never expected her to have."

As the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked to see the Chimera still standing before them.

Even more so as the damage they inflicted was beginning to disappear.

The Chimera raised its claw at them as energy began to collect within it.

"Shell!" Karin raised a magical barrier in front of the party.

"Jet Stream!" A powerful blast of water shot from the pincer.

The shell did nothing as they all were hit by the high pressure attack.

"That wasn't a magic attack?" She said in disbelief.

"Looks that way. Plus it heals every time we attack it." Storm said.

_"Karin."_ Said Bahamut.

"What is it?" She asked.

_"Now is the time to show you my power."_ He insisted.

Karin nodded as she raised her hand into the air.

The ring shined as a beam of light shot at the ceiling, becoming a magical symbol of runes.

Bahamut shattered through the symbol and slammed into the ground in a knelt position.

His head snapped up as he charged, roaring before ramming into the Chimera, full force.

The beast screamed as it crashed into the pile of wood, its arms flailing in all directions.

Bahamut let out a forced snort as he wings spread wide, giving of an intimidating posture.

"Way to go!" Kick his ass!" Everyone shouted.

_"PsssH, I could do that."_ Ifrit claimed.

The Chimera finally regained its footing and roared.

The bull head opened its mouth as fire launched from it.

Bahamut went defensive, crossing his arms in front of his chest as the blast struck.

After the attack ended, Bahamut lowered his arms.

"Not bad, for an abomination."

The Chimera didn't stop there as it brought both arms down on the Dragon, who caught them.

Both seemed in a struggle to overpower the other.

"Something like you could never hope to stand against the Dragon King!"

Bahamut growled as he threw the Chimera's arms wide, then driving his foot into its chest, sending it hurdling into the wall with a great crash.

He raised his fingers at the creature as a volley of dark blasts pelted it relentlessly.

"Now let me show you how its done!"

The Dragon flapped his wings, taking to the air and rising above the beast.

He opened his mouth as enormous amounts of pure energy began to channel in front of it, so great that the atmosphere began to shimmer.

"Mega Flare!"

The Chimera was consumed as the beam of pure destructive power crashed into it.

XXXXX

Above ground, everyone let out cries of shock and fear as the area shook violently, causing vehicle alarms to go off and roads to split for several seconds before it ended.

XXXXX

All that remained of the Chimera was charred ashes in the wake of a giant crater.

"Thank you Bahamut." Karin said.

_"Just call me whenever you need me."_ He replied.

"So what was that thing anyway?" Cid asked.

"That was The Order." Shri-Lanka replied. "Somehow, while we were gone, something happened to turn them into that hideous monster."

"Well we kicked its ass either way so lets get the hell outta here." Cid stated.

When everyone exited the base, they saw the people were in a state of chaos at the destruction around them.

"We should get out of here so we don't get caught in the fray." Shri-Lanka said as she led them to another part of the lower level.

The place she took them bared semblance to a suburb, including having a church and a school.

"This way." She said as they walked by the assortment of houses.

The one they stopped at was a quaint one-story brick house.

Shri-Lanka walked to the door and unlocked it.

"Welcome to our home." She said, walking inside.

Inside was a very clean domicile, having a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms.

"Would anyone like anything to drink?" She asked.

"Got any beer?" Cid asked.

"Sure, anyone else?"

The rest asked for various drinks or declined the offer.

They waited til she came back with a tray of bottles and glasses.

Karin took her glass of ice water.

"You have a lovely home." She complimented.

"You're too kind, Karin. It's not much, but The Order made sure that we were taken care of so I couldn't ask for more." Shri-Lanka replied.

"Now with The Order dead, a ship will even harder get." Storm pointed out.

"Which means we'll have to find another way to get one." Carlos said.

"But any ships capable of reaching space were taken by the Military." Karin added.

"Wait a second here. What would you need a Class A ship for anyway?" Cid inquired.

"We're heading to Terra." Karin answered.

The man nearly choked on his beer for a minute.

"Are you nuts!" Once the Terrans see one of our ships, they'll blow it up without a second thought!"

"I'm willing to take that risk for the sake of peace." Karin said forcefully.

Cid covered his face with a hand as he shook it.

"How did I end up with a crazy bunch like this?" He muttered.

"What Cid said is true. Any attempt to reach Terra is suicide, even if it is for diplomatic reasons." Talon explained.

"I didn't expect you to be such a coward, Talon." Storm said.

"I'm not, I'm just stating the danger that you're putting yourself in.

"But at this point, this war won't end until one side is dead." Shri-Lanka added.

"Haven't you tried to communicate with Terra before?" Talon asked.

"Yes, but since my father died, the Military took control of Dias. I'm nothing more than a figurehead to them."

"I see."

Cid stood up and looked out a window, staring up at the ceiling that which was the second level.

"Then it looks to me that we'll have to steal a ship."

The group was shocked at his statement, seeing how he was acting earlier.

"If you can get me a ship, I can fly it. All we need is a way to get to the port."

"I can get us to the Portstation if that's what you need." Shri-Lanka said. "Beyond that, we'll be fighting out way to get a ship."

"Well the station itself will be difficult, but it's better than taking on the entire military." Cid surmised.

"we've had a long day. Lets get some rest so we'll be ready tomorrow." Shri-Lanka suggested.

XXXXX

The next morning everyone was ready for the events to come.

_"I got a feeling that this is gonna be a wild party."_ Ramuh

_"If you get into any trouble. Just let me know, Hun."_ Shinva said.

"You got it." Shri-Lanka said.

"Come on, Yojimbo. Lets kick some ass!" Declared Wedge.

"As you wish, Young Wedge."

"You can just call me Wedge, you know."

"Ifrit, lets turn everything to ash." Said Storm.

"You read my mind, kid."

Karin stepped in front of them.

"Before we leave. I don't want you killing anybody, understand."

"Some of the group was disappointed.

"Why not?" Storm asked.

"Well if people are killed, then we'll most likely be labeled as criminals, even traitors as we are stealing from the Military." She explained.

"Good point." Said Shri-Lanka.

"Just incapacitate them." Karin demanded.

"Ok, fine." Storm said, though a bit frustrated.

Karin couldn't believe that he was acting so bloodthristy.

_"Why is he behaving like such a child?"_ She asked herself.

"There is a passage that only I know about that will get us to the station, but it is a little dangerous." The Demi explained.

"Lead the way." Carlos said.

The group had to pass through a crazy array of tunnels as well as crossing treacherous gaps to finally reach the interior of a tall silo filled with junk.

"This is where the unused garbage for military weapons is discarded. It leads straight into the heart of the Military." She said.

"Seems like anybody could get in from this way." Said Carlos.

"Not likely." She pointed up to a very small vent that was hundreds of feet above them on the seemless wall of the silo.

"That's how we get in."

"So how do you supposed we do that?" Carlos asked.

Shri-Lanka didn't answer as she grabbed Karin and placed her on her back.

"Hang on tight, Karin."

Before she could say a word, Shri-Lanka jumped with amazing power, causing the girl to scream like a banshee as the Demi collided with the wall will a loud bang.

She then pushed off to reach the other side, Karin's screams never ending as they rose higher into the air, finally reaching the vent.

The poor girl looked like she was going to have a heart attack as her friend looked out.

"Does that answer your question!" She shouted back.

Carlos was at a loss of words.

"Now that's my kind of woman." Cid grinned as he took a drag of his cigar.

Wedge snickered as he got ready to go and shot across the silo, banking up into a spiral course.

"Well this should be fun." Talon said, a little unenthused.

XXXXX

Admiral Stryker was overlooking the repairs of the Osiris from the Control Center.

"Come on Stryker. Have a drink with me to calm your nerves." Fleet Admiral Lorn said, putting his arm over his shoulder.

"Is that an order?" Stryker asked.

"Consider it a mandatory request." The ship won't get finished any faster with you staring at it." Said Lorn.

"Fine, I could use a break."

Stryker and Lorn were accompanied by 4 guards, two in front and back as they walked down one of the many corridors.

"So how's the arm doing?" Lorn asked.

"The same... Feels like I'm not even in control of it sometimes." Stryker replied.

"Well it could be worse you know. It's a miracle that you survived this long being at the front lines these ten years." Said Lorn.

"Just lucky I guess."

Just then, they all noticed something strange lumbering towards them.

It was small like a child and covered in a cloak from head to toe.

The men were on their guard, but it was showing no hostile action towards them yet.

"Who are you? You are in a restricted Military Complex." Stryker said.

"R...re...reunion." It moaned.

"Reunion? Listen, this is a classified area. You will be detained until sentencing can be carried out for violating this facility."

"Re...Reunion!" It suddenly moved with frightening speed, heading right for Stryker.

"Admiral!" Shouted a guard, intercepting the creature.

When the creature collided with him, it seemed to engulf him like a hungry animal, wrapping around him like a cocoon.

The man tried to struggle, but it was like tar, sticking to him no matter how hard he tried.

The group backed away as his struggles ceased.

The black body stood up slowly, clumsily.

It seemed to take on the impression of the soldier.

The creature raised its gun at them.

"Fire!" Lorn shouted and the guards filled it with bullets, causing it to scream in agony before collapsing, dissolving into a black shapeless pool.

Sirens and lights went off.

"Looks like we're under attack! Everyone to the Control Center!" Stryker ordered as they retreated.

XXXXX

Shri-Lanka grabbed the screen of the vent and forced it open.

She crawled out of the shaft and helped the rest get up.

"So where are we?" Karin asked.

"Looks to me that this is the Armory." Cid answered.

"That's right." Shri-Lanka answered.

All around them were weapons ranging from firearms, grenades, vehicles, and other tools of destruction.

"Who would think that anyone would come through the very heart of the Military Stronghold." Stated Shri-Lanka.

Suddenly alarms went off.

"Looks like we've been found out!" Talon shouted over the noise.

"Way to go Sis!" Shouted Wedge.

"Shut up! It's not us that tripped the alarm!" She shouted back.

"Then the port must be under attack!" Shouted Carlos.

"Lets go!" Cid shouted.

Everyone followed him to the door.

"My lady, would you do the honors?" Cid asked Shri-Lanka as he stepped away.

"Gladly." Shri-Lanka swung her Naginata, tearing through the heavy door like aluminum foil.

"My you're as strong as you are beautiful." He said in passing.

"Oh please, you're making me blush." She said.

_"Oooh, looks like the old man beat you to the punch."_ Ramuh said.

_"Shut it or I'll break every bone in your body."_ Shiva snarled.

As everyone left, Storm noticed a pair of finely polished Kodachis with a dragon and tiger on either hilt.

"These could be useful." He said, taking the Toradora blades.

"Storm, what the hell are you doing! Hurry up!" Carlos shouted.

"Coming!" Storm sheathed the blades and ran after them.

XXXXX

After leaving the Armory, they had run into a crossroads.

"This is great. Which way do we go?" Wedge asked.

Cid thought about the question for a moment.

"Looks like we'll have to split up. At the moment, they are preoccupied with whatever is attacking the Station. That will make it harder for them to respond to us. We'll be able to cover more ground and back each other incase we have to fight."

"Sound like a good plan. So who's going with who and where?" Carlos asked.

When they looked at Cid, all that remained was an outline, seeing him head down the right path.

"I'll catch up with you at the Port so stay alive won't ya!" He shouted.

"That son of a bitch!" Carlos said, more out of surprise than anger.

"Well I'll be going with the ladies." Talon said, standing between them.

"Like hell you are!" Storm grabbed Talon by the sash and jerked him away.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Talon growled at Storm.

"I don't trust you around them." Storm snarled back.

"Guys!" Karin shouted. "Now's not the time for this!"

She grabbed Carlos and pulled him with her.

"I've decided who's coming with us so you have so say in the matter." She said before taking the left path.

Both men were shocked by what just happened.

"Don't worry guys! I'll take care of them!" Carlos shouted.

"Look what you did! Now neither of us can be with Karin!" Shouted Talon.

"Better than having you try to molest her!" Storm shouted back.

"What! I'm not some kind of pervert!"

"Hey guys!" Wedge cut in and was shot down by their menacing glares.

"What!" They both shouted.

"Couldn't you settle this another time?" The boy suggested.

Both men returned their sights back on eachother.

"Fine, we will settle this once this is over." Storm declared.

"Fine by me." Talon replied as they bolted down the middle corridor.

Wedge let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought I was gonna die."

XXXXX

Cid ran down the corridor with determination trying to avoid any unnecessary confrontations.

Just as he turned a corner, he ran into a squad of 5 men.

"Ah shit!"

"Hold it right there!" One of them ordered, possibly the leader.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to waste my time with you."

Cid brought forth the Venus Gospel.

"And I can't afford to let you go any farther."

On cue, they all brandished ceramic botons.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Cid asked.

A soldier pressed a panel on the wall, causing the air to briefly shimmer.

Cid suddenly felt his weapon growing heavy and try as he might, the weight continued to increase, forcing him to let go.

"So things have changed since the last time I was here. A magnetic floor for one." He said, tapping it with his boot.

"Seize him!" Four of the men charged.

"Crap." Cid looked around for something to fight with.

His eyes landed on a bucket with a mop.

"Well it's better than nothing."

He ran to grab the handle just as they were on top of him.

He kicked the bucket, spilling water on the floor."

The front two men tried to stop, but lost their footing.

Cid swung low, catching them at their shins, spinning them head over heels to the ground.

"Come on! He's only one man!" Shouted the leader.

The other two charged in, swinging their batons fast and violent.

Cid was dodging their attempts to hit him with noticeable ease and parried a blow, rapping the guy's helmet before catching him between the legs, launching him into the ceiling.

The other swung for his head, which Cid avoided and slammed the handle in the back of his head, knocking him to the ground and kicking him across the water, sending him into the far wall.

The ones he knocked down earlier charged from behind to catch him off guard.

Cid went on the defensive, being pushed back by their assault.

In reality, he was baiting them as he stood on the head of the mop and pushed off the wall, sliding out of their reach.

They missed and lost their balance, falling face first and sliding on the floor.

Cid pulled out an Ice Veil, placing it on the water.

The men became frozen to the ground, unable to move.

The leader was absolutely furious.

"Damn you!" He brandished another ceramic rod and charged, throwing all of his fury at Cid.

"So young and hot-headed. You'll never win a battle by swinging so wildly." Cid said as he parried a blow and slammed the tip into the man's foot.

The man howled in pain, dropping his rods to cradle his foot.

Cid then put the mop in his face, causing the man to let out muffled cries as his face was wiped in a very rough fashion.

Cid then pushed the man's face, causing him to fall on his butt.

As the man regained his vision, Cid was holding the bucket over his shoulder.

"Let a few years cool you off. Maybe we'll meet again someday."

He shoved the bucket on the man's head before taking a hard swing, knocking the man unconscious.

He walked over to the panel, shutting off before retrieving his weapon.

"It was fun while it lasted." He said as he walked away.

Cid opened the door and saw a man with a pistol aimed at him.

"Yo, what's up Stryker?"

The man looked at him with a gaze of shock.

"I never expected to run into you in a situation like this." Stryker said, lowering his weapon.

"Who is it?" Fleet Admiral Lorn said, peeking over a computer.

"Former Captain, Cid Highwind. Don't you recognize him?" Said Stryker.

"Cid Highwind? The famed pilot who never lost a single vessel" The Aces of Aces with over 100 destroyed ships to his name?"

"The one and only." Cid replied. "Of course I come here for chit-chat. I just want to know where my ship is?"

"Who do you think you are? You don't have the rank or authority to be making such demands, not to mention that we're in a state of emergency!" Declared Lorn.

"Would it help if I said please?"

Admiral Lorn looked like he was about to pop a vein until Stryker calmed him down.

"I know I owe you for saving my life, Cid. But as it is, we can't offer your request." Stryker stated.

"Well I did notice that things are a bit crazy out there." Cid mentioned.

Stryker showed him a surveillance video of what was going on.

"Yes, we have no idea what they are, but what we do know is that these things are parasites that cling to any sentient life forms and assimilate themselves to their hosts. In a nutshell, the more we loss, the more they gain."

"So you need some help clearing these things out?" Cid asked.

"If you think you can do it by yourself." Lorn stated.

"What makes you think I'm alone?"

Cid switched the monitor to show Storm's group and Karin's group.

"How did they get in here?" Lorn demanded. "And one of them is the Princess!"

"Just tell me where my ship is and we'll take care of your little problem." Cid offered.

Stryker saw that his options were limited as their situation was becoming more dire.

"North Port, F-7."

"Thanks, so hang tight while we handle this." Cid took off, the door shutting on his way out.

"Can we really trust that man?" Lorn asked.

"He had his reasons for leaving the Military, but there isn't anyone I would trust more."

XXXXX

Storm, Talon, and Wedge were pinned down by a hail of gunfire.

"Crap! This is not looking good!" Talon shouted.

"What gave you that idea?" Storm asked sarcastically.

"Hey Wedge, can't you get by them or something?" He asked.

"Hey! I'm fast, but I can't dodge bullets!" Wedge replied.

"Young Wedge, might I be of assistance?" Yojimbo asked.

"I told you. It's just Wedge."

"As you wish. Just unsheathe me and I'll take care of the rest."

"Got it. Just don't kill anybody."

"Why not?"

"Cause if we kill anybody, Karin will get mad. And if Karin gets mad, my sis will get mad. And when she gets mad, I'm dead."

"Very well... Wedge."

"That's more like it."

Wedge unsheathed the sword as he walked into the line of fire, planting its blade into the ground in a kneeling position.

In a flash, Yojimbo projected from the sword in the same fashion as Wedge.

The men continued to fire, but Yojimbo's armor deflected the projectiles as he seemed to charge in a streak of light, appearing between the soldiers.

"1000 Kings!"

The Samurai sheathed his sword before any of them hit the ground, all of that happening in less than a second.

"Hurry, I sense an ominous presence." He warned.

"Ominous? Like how?" Storm asked.

"Like that monster we faced underground."

"Shit, there's another one?" Storm said.

"More." Yojimbo answered.

"Lets get moving." Talon said as they continued to run, Yojimbo returning to Wedge's back.

Once again they ran into a group of soldiers, but they were occupied by another battle.

The men were firing just before they were pounced on by the black creatures as they screamed and struggled before turned into puppets.

"At least these are a lot smaller." Said Storm as they charged into battle.

XXXXX

Karin, Shri-Lanka and Carlos were managing well through the corridors. Karin was quick enough to follow the signs that gave them directions to the port.

"This way." She said.

With all of the commotion going on, they had few encounters with the enemy.

As they turned a corner, they saw a small group of soldiers, except they were entirely black from head to toe.

"Karin, look ut or we'll get spotted." Shri-Lanka said.

"Shri-Lanka, I am still the Princess, maybe I can get them to let us pass." She suggested.

_"Careful Karin. I sense something strange about them."_ Bahamut warned.

"Got it. Excuse me!" She called, getting their attention. "We happen to be lost so would you gentlemen be so kind as to let us by so we can get to the Port?"

Without hesitation, the men fired on her.

Karin freaked out just before Shri-Lanka tackled her, narrowly avoiding death.

"Nice try, but it looks like they're not on our side." She said.

"Carlos! Can you buy us some time?"

"No problem." Carlos channeled his ki into his hand.

"Sonic Punch!"

The shockwave bore down the hallway. slamming the group into the wall.

"Karin, raise a barrier in front of me." Shri-Lanka told her.

Karin complied as a blue field encased her.

"I'll take care of them." And she charged at them like a wild animal.

The soldiers slowly got up and began to fire.

Shri-Lanka didn't slow, the barrier protecting her from the bullets.

"Come forth! Shiva!" She commanded.

"You know it." Shiva exploded from her cocoon of ice as she took the lead, her armor shining from the light.

"Diamond Dust!" She fired the beam of freezing energy, enveloping the area in solid ice.

With a snap of her fingers, the ice exploded, as did the soldiers.

"Shri-Lanka! Why did you kill them?" Karin demanded.

"Because they weren't human, at least not anymore."

Shri-Lanka pointed at the pieces, which were oozing.

"Whatever this stuff is, it isn't friendly. I suggest that we get moving so we don't run into anymore of these things." To which they agreed.

XXXXX

The groups had finally reached the Port, to which Cid was casually waiting.

"Glad you made it out in one piece." He said, smoking his cigar.

"So where's the ship?" Talon asked.

"That way, but we've got to get through them first."

Before them was a small battalion of the black soldiers.

"What the hell are they?" Wedge asked.

"According to what I gathered, they are parasites that assimilate to their host, making them lifeless dolls in which they are controlled." Cid explained.

"Well it looks like we've got no choice, eh Ifrit?" Said Storm.

"My words exactly." The demon fox replied.

Storm summoned Ifrit, his massive form overshadowing the group as his six tails swayed behind him.

"Meteor Shot!" The blasts of fire struck the field of parasitic soldiers, incinerating them in the explosions.

Storm's black fire aura surrounded him as he streaked across the battlefield.

"Rage of Hades!"

He headed right for the center of the mob, rearing back his arm and giving the centermost soldier a powerful upper4cut to the abdomen, which erupted into a tornado of black fire that grew from the epicenter.

The soldiers caught in the maelstrom were helpless in its power, spinning and burning as it rose higher into the air.

Once the tornado died, Storm was standing on twisted, molten metal.

The soldiers seemed to disregard the death of their comrades, raising their weapons to fire.

Several received bolts into their chest, which exploded.

"Don't forget about us." Talon declared as he released another volley of arrows, taking out more soldiers.

Soon everyone joined in the battle, tearing down the battalion's numbers little by little til only 10 remained.

"Looks like the end of the road for you." Carlos said as he cracked his knuckles.

"R...re...reunion." They said in unison.

That word became their chant as they slowly walked into eachother, merging into one.

"What the hell?" Cid said, staring at the blob as it took form, growing and growing, becoming more defined as arms and legs took shape.

The creature developed two eyes and its body began to harden like armor as spikes grew from its head.

In its right arm, a monstrous sword and its left an enormous cannon.

"Damn that thing is huge!" Shouted Wedge.

"It looks like some kind of Iron Giant." Stated Shri-Lanka.

"Hey Shri-Lanka. How many people did the Order consist of?" Asked Storm?"

"Just 3."

"So now this thing is over 3 times as powerful as the one we fought before. How in the hell are we supposed to beat it?" He shouted.

The giant's eyes flared red as it raised its left arm at them.

"Break Cannon!"

Everybody saw the barrel glowing white, seeing their chances of surviving that shot nigh-impossible.

The center of its head was struck by a powerful explosion, knocking it backwards from the force.

The Break Cannon fired a concentrated beam that tore through the Port like it was paper, slicing ships like a blade.

Everyone looked to see a dark figure land in front of them.

The long black trenchcoat, the long black hair, and the cowboy hat to finish the ensemble, it was Black Rose.

As the smoke was fading around its face, the Iron Giant roared in anger.

Black Rose charged , unholstering her twin pistols.

The giant swung down to cleave her in two, but Rose jumped over the strike, running up its arm as she continued to fire relentlessly on it.

The giant roared and tried to shake her off, but she jumped, pulling off a wild array of acrobatic flips and twirls as she fired, every bullet hitting its mark without fail.

It tried to swing as she landed, but she backflipped just before it could hit and continued he barrage of bullets.

Her aura began to glow deep red as she prepared for a powerful attack.

"Devil Trigger!"

The red markings on her pistols began to glow as her bullets became massive bolts of energy.

The Iron Giant was being pushed back with the power of her shots as she casually pursued it at a walking pace, never ceasing her assault.

The giant soon began to wear down and it collapsed like a felled tree.

After that fiasco, Rose's Barrel's were smoking as she holstered them and turned back towards the party.

Behind her, the Iron Giant began to stir as it sat up, its Break Cannon glowing white and fired.

"Behind you!" Karin shouted.

Rose pulled out her rifle with her right hand, turning towards the monster.

"X-Caliber!"

A monstrous blast of crimson energy exploded from her rifle, the shockwave slamming ships against eachother violently.

The blast intercepted the beam, smashing through it easily before hitting the giant, blasting it to pieces with astonishing power.

Rose shouldered the rifle and turned to the group.

"Long time no see, Sakura." Storm said.

The others were surprised at Storm.

"You know who Black Rose is?" Said Carlos.

Black Rose snickered a little as she grasped the top of her hat.

"So you figured it out. I had thought you were dead long ago."

"I had a hunch. I thought you had also died in the Mideel Massacre."

"But it is good to see you're still alive... Little Brother."

"Little Brother" Everyone shouted.

"Black Rose is your sister! The Number 1 Assassin in the World!" Said Shri-Lanka.

"Yeah, guess I'm a real underachiever compared to her and Kain."

Black Rose pulled the cowboy hat off, letting it hang behind her.

"Enough talk. There's a traitor among you."

Her black eyes became bright red slits as she aimed her gun and fired, right at Talon.

The man had no time to react as the bullet hit him like a train, knocking him back a short distance.

Everyone was shocked at what she had done.

"Sakura! What the hell? I know he's an asshole and all, but what makes him a traitor?" Storm demanded.

Then they saw Talon get up and casually dust himself off like nothing happened, shocking them to utter silence.

"Show yourself Terran! Your disguise can't fool my eyes!" Black Rose commanded.

Talon placed a hand on his hip as he looked at the bullet that stuck in his clothes.

"So you found me out, huh. Guess you couldn't attack me in the cave with your brother there. So even a cold-blooded assassin has a soft spot for her sibling."

"What are you saying?" Karin asked.

"Sorry Princess, I was hoping you wouldn't find out this way."

Talon ran his fingers through his red hair, which turned white. His eyes turned gold as his clothes became a white robe covered in magical runes.

The Materia dropped at his feet as he no longer needed them.

"My true name is Raptor Grimoire. Prince of Terra and one of the 5 Reys."

Karin's eyes filled with tears as she collapsed to her knees. Feelings of betrayal flooding her heart.

Shri-Lanka and Storm ran to her side as she hid her face in her hands.

Storm glared at Raptor with murderous rage as his eyes turned red.

"You bastard! You Son of a Bitch! I'll kill you!"

Nobody could stop him as he took off.

Storm roared as black fire cloaked him as he slammed into Raptor like a ram.

Black and White exploded from the forces that collided.

The aftermath was unexpected.

Raptor had caught Storm's swords with his bare hands.

Despite this, Storm wasn't backing off as his red eyes showed nothing but hate and killing intent.

"You Reys killed my Brother! Tore my family apart! And I told you if you ever hurt Karin that you would pay!"

"I can see that you truly loath my kind and for that I am sorry, as well as making the Princess cry. But all your hate, all your rage isn't enough to hurt me."

"Burn in Hell!" Storm pulled away as he summoned Ifrit.

"Make him suffer!" He ordered.

"With pleasure!" Ifrit prepared his Hellfire.

"Eat this!" Ifrit roared and threw the massive ball of fire.

Raptor aimed his hand at the attack, the ball ricocheting off of a force field, harmlessly heading into space.

"Impossible!" Ifrit said before Raptor appeared behind him, striking him in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground before returning to Storm.

"Ifrit!" Storm turned just in time to block a similar strike.

"Is this all you have? I was hoping that you were holding back, but I guess I was wrong."

Storm growled as he dashed away to get some distance between them.

"Too slow."

Storm was surprised to see Raptor already behind him.

"I expected that all your anger would make you strong, but I'm terribly disappointed."

Storm growled and began to unleash a flurry of slashes, but Raptor seemed to shift away with little effort and instantly grab his face.

"I'll end this before I break that fragile ego of yours."

Raptor's hand shined before he hit Storm w a powerful wave of energy, shooting him into a steel beam with tremendous force.

Storm had a stunned look on his face as the fire around him flickered away and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Raptor lowered his arm when he heard the sound of a hammer cocking back.

Black Rose had near instantly appeared behind him with her pistols in his back.

"Nobody hurts my brother."

"BANG!" Raptor vanished in the explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Raptor was smoldering.

"Well it goes to show that you're the only person on this planet strong enough to hurt me."

Black Rose put a gun to his forehead.

"I can do more than that."

Raptor vanished, but Black Rose altered her aim and fired.

The blast was deflected by Raptor's hand.

"Impressive. I've never been hit when I teleport."

"There's a 1st time for everything." She leveled her guns at him.

"My Demon Eyes see everything."

"Except the truth."

"What did you say?!"

Raptor raised his hands in a nonthreatening manner.

"I did not come here to fight. I came here of my own accord to investigate my father's murder."

"Investigate? That's a likely story." She said.

"I know that whoever killed my father was not your people, but as the Prince, I hold not authority in a War Council. I've searched this planet for the last year for any clues that could prove my theory, but I could not. I've only wanted peace between our worlds, but without proof, this war cannot be stopped."

"Enough lies!' Rose raised her guns to fire.

_"Wait! He speaks the truth!"_ Shouted Bahamut.

"What?" Rose paused.

"It may be hard to believe, but his reflection bears no falseness to his words."

Karin dried her tears and stood up.

"As confusing as it is, I want to believe what Bahamut says. Please Miss Valentine." Karin begged.

Black Rose was hesitant at first, but eventually holstered her weapons.

"Thank you for understanding." Raptor said.

"That doesn't explain why you had to beat up Storm." Rose said.

"Words weren't going to get through to him so I had to use force." Raptor explained.

Raptor heard the sound of metal scraping the ground.

Storm was slowly getting up, leaving his weapons behind.

"Now that he's awake maybe you can talk sense into him."

Storm's posture was slumped over, his gait in a slow stride with his head held down.

"Hey Storm!" We don't need to fight! He's not here to hurt us!" Karin shouted.

Storm stopped when he heard Karin's voice.

Raptor looked at Storm with a curious expression.

"Maybe I knocked some screws loose with that last attack."

Then he laughed.

Storm's blood red eyes flashed wide open.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Storm's cry sounded less human and more... demonic.

Raptor stopped laughing as he stared at the man.

Storm's fire erupted like a volcano, vaporizing solid steel like water.

With a roar akin to the devil, he flew like a bat out of hell right for Raptor.

Raptor didn't even see the punch that slammed into his face, launching him through several ships from its sheer force.

Everyone saw that Storm's arm was no longer human, but clawed and covered in skinlike armor.

Storm growled as he hunched over, his back bulging before wings exploded from his clothes.

"He's changing!" Wedge cried in fear.

Rose looked at her brother and came to realize that he was still unconscious.

"Stay back! His power is going out of control! He's fighting from instinct so he has no sense of friend or foe! Don't get in his way or he'll kill you!" She warned.

Half of Storm's face was covered by a demonic mask, which was slowly working its way to cover the other side.

"Storm, try to control yourself. You're angry but you can't let that consume you. If you let that power take over, you will be nothing but a wild animal."

Storm didn't seemed phased by her words and slashed at her, which she narrowly dodged as he ran by.

"Storm!" She shouted as he pursued Raptor.

Storm reached the hole and was greeted by a giant bolt of lightning.

He flew into the air before knocking it away, snarling at the Terran as he flew out.

"Listen to your sister. I don't want to kill you if I don't have to." Raptor said as he landed on the floor.

Storm either didn't understand or didn't care, but he replied with a roar as he shot straight down into the concrete floor, surrounding himself in a dust cloud.

He rocketed from the cloud, his demon arm reared back to strike.

"You can't do anything but charge headon, can you?"

Raptor raised a fist and slammed it down on Storm's head, making the ground cave in and split around them.

Seconds later, Storm nailed Raptor with an uppercut, knocking him into the Station, embedding the Terran into a wall.

Raptor spit blood from his mouth.

"Now you're starting to piss me off!"

Storm flew like a missile at Raptor, who raised a force field, in which Storm slammed into and began to repeatedly pound his fist against the barrier like a savage beast.

"You must really be stupid! You can't break through with just brute force!"

Storm reared back his fist as demonic energy surged through it.

Raptor's eyes got wide as Storm shattered the field like glass, grabbing him and aiming him at the ground.

All of Storm's power exploded point blank into Raptor, shooting him through the Port with a giant beam of energy.

Raptor and the beam pierced through the 2nd and 1st level of Dias, driving him out of the city which was almost cut in half but the attack.

At ground zero, Raptor was groaning in pain as blood dripped from various wounds on his body.

"So this is the power that killed Shire. What a truly dangerous power he possesses."

Through the smoke and destruction, he could see Storm stalking from the darkness.

When Raptor got a better look, he noticed that Storm was standing in a pool of blood.

Storm was breathing heavily, blood running from his mouth and through his demon skin, dripping from his chin, his fingers, and through his clothes.

"His power is tearing his body apart. If he keeps fighting at this level, he'll kill himself."

Raptor steadied himself, scanning the area for possible casualties.

"Ok, I hate to do this, but it's time to put you in your place!"

He widened his stance as he gathered all of his power into his hands which swirled into a humming ball of destructive power.

"I haven't gone all out in a long time, consider this an honor that you pushed me this far, Storm!"

Storm replied with a roar through blood-stained fangs and broke into a run, setting everything he touched on black fire.

"Now! See if you can withstand my 'End of the World' attack!"

The ball of energy's sheer presence was causing the ground to rupture and crumble.

Storm leaped into the air, raising his clawed hand to crush Raptor's head.

"HaaaaaHHHH!" Raptor thrust his hands forward, hitting Storm in his chest.

Everything went silent as the two vanished within an expanding dome of white began to consume anything it touched, before an earth-shattering shockwave shook the land.


	9. Behind Enemy Lines

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

_Shire groaned in shock as Kain's lance had pierced his chest, the blade exiting through his back as blood dripped from its tip._

_Kain was breathing heavily from the intense fighting. He pulled the blade from the man's chest as he collapsed to his knees._

_"It can't be. How could I lose? I'm one of the 5 Reys of Terra." Shire said._

_"That may be Terran, but there are more powerful things in this universe. Even more powerful than me. Your overconfidence proved your downfall." Kain answered._

_Shire let out a final gasp as he fell backwards, dead._

_Kain stabbed the ground as he fell to his knees, his strength fading from his body._

_"Brother!" Storm cried as he ran down the crater, his foot catching a rock before he tumbled the rest of the way down._

_Storm didn't care as he got back up and ran to his brother's aid._

_"Hey Little Bro." Kain said as his armor shed from his skin._

_"Kain! You're hurt!" Tears ran down Storm's face._

_"It's alright. I can't feel it anymore." Kain fell forward, losing his grip on his weapon._

_Storm ran to his side and rolled him over._

_"Listen, Storm. I don't have much time left. My body's spent. I'm sorry it has to be this way."_

_"Wait! Please don't go! I don't want you to die!"_

_Kain smiled as he placed a hand on Storm's head._

_"It's gonna be ok. I'm just glad you're safe. Live on for me, ok. I'll be watching over you and your sister. I love you..."_

_Kain let out a soft breath as his eyes closed, his hand slipping off his little brother's head._

_Storm's eyes grew wide as he watched his brother pass away._

_Storm couldn't do anything but fall on his brother's chest and cry out his pain to the empty sky._

_"Those damn Terrans! I'll swear I'll kill them all!" Storm swore with anger and pain._

XXXXX

Storm woke up with a start.

He found himself in an unfamiliar room in a lot of pain as he clutched his chest, which was bandaged as was a good portion of his body.

Except for his pants, he was stripped of his clothes.

As he adjusted to his surroundings, he noticed that Karin was sitting in a chair with her head against the wall, asleep.

A door opened and Shri-Lanka walked in carrying fresh bandages.

"You're finally awake. You gave us quite a scare earlier." She said.

Storm moved himself to sit at the edge.

"Where are we? I can't remember anything."

Shri-Lanka had a brief flashback of Storm's rampage.

"It's better that you don't."

She walked over and begun to take off his old bandages to replace them, when she noticed him looking at Karin.

"She hasn't left your side since you fell unconscious."

"Really?" He said.

"Yes, she was worried about you. She healed you as much as she could, but some wounds refused to heal so we had to bandage you to stop the bleeding."

"And what about Raptor?"

Shri-Lanka was hesitant.

"He's with us on the ship."

"He's what!" Storm said, anger clearly in his voice.

"Calm down or your wounds will open up. He's not a bad guy, but he had his reasons for deceiving us."

Storm made an irritated sound.

"He made Karin cry." He said.

"She's a strong woman. She'll be fine. You need to keep your head cool and recover. For her sake."

After Shri-Lanka finished, she placed the dirty bandages in the garbage.

"If you feel well enough to get up. We're at the Captain's Deck." And she left.

Storm took a deep breath and stood up. After seeing that he was stable, he walked to Karin.

He watched her sleeping figure, her soft breathing with every exhale.

As gently as he could, he picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying her head against the pillow.

She stirred a little before settling down.

Storm opened the door, gave one last look, and closed it behind him.

He wandered around a bit, he saw the stars whizzing by the windows, but other than empty rooms, there wasn't much else.

"Guess I'll check the Captain's Deck."

Upon reaching the Captain's Deck, he saw the others were there, waiting.

Then his eyes fell on Raptor.

"You..."

Storm knew his swords were gone, but he wasn't helpless without them.

"Calm down Storm. This isn't a time for fighting." Shri-Lanka told him.

"I am calm. Just know that he is the enemy." He stated.

"Note taken, but also know that I am the only way you can get to Terra without being blown to pieces." Raptor said.

"He's right you know." Said Cid. "This ship is combat capable, but the Terrans have a virtually impenetrable defense. We've never been able to break it."

"Once word reaches my mother that I'm on this ship, they will let us through. From there, Karin and I will be able to speak with her about the matters concerning this war." Raptor explained.

"What do you mean, 'Karin and I'?" Storm interjected.

"You're jumping to conclusions, Storm. This is strictly diplomacy. As a royal member of Gaia, her words could sway my mother to end this war. Many lives will be saved."

"Storm, I know what you're feeling. Losing Kain is hard on both of us, but don't put our world in jeopardy for vengeance. Kain gave his life to protect us and our home. He wouldn't want you to consume your life with hatred." His sister said.

"I think that's enough talk for now. It's still two days till we reach Terra. So just relax til then." Cid suggested.

Storm left without a word, with Sakura going after him.

She looked around, but Storm was already gone.

"Don't think you can get away from Big Sister."

Sakura's irises became red slits.

In seconds, she picked up Storm's position, but saw that he wasn't even hiding.

Storm was standing at the at the aft of the ship, staring out into space.

"Need to talk?" She asked.

Storm turned to see Sakura walking up to him.

"Not really."

"Hmph. I don't even need these eyes to tell that you're full of it."

Storm cracked a light grin at the comment.

Sakura stood next to him, seeing that he was a few inches taller than her.

"You've grown up since I've been away."

"That's usually what happens to kids. They grow up."

Sakura felt like that was meant to hurt her.

"Listen. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. When I saw what had happened to our town. I thought you had been killed along with everyone else. If I knew that you survived, I would have never stopped looking for you."

Karin woke up, seeing that she was no longer in the chair and that Storm was missing.

She left the infirmary and looked around for Storm, hoping he wasn't pushing himself too hard.

Very quickly, she saw Storm talking with his sister.

She knew that eaves dropping was wrong, but curiosity got the better of her and she sneaked closer, hiding behind a pillar as she peeked out to get a better look.

"But you must have known in the cave. How could you not?" He asked.

"Yes, but even then I wasn't sure. Thinking you've been dead for the last 10 years put some doubt in me. That's why I decided to see if it truly was you."

"So you've been watching me ever since?"

"Yes, but I decided not to intervene unless you really needed my help. I watched as you became stronger and more dependent on your friends. In many ways, you are just like Kain."

"Well I don't see it. He was so strong and kind. Everybody loved him. I don't know how I can measure up to him."

"You don't have to, Storm. You're not Kain. You are you. That's all you have to be. There was nobody he cared about more than you."

She noticed Storm's hand shaking in a clenched fist.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into her arms.

"You never grieved over his death, did you? To hold in all of that pain for so long must be hurting you so much."

Storm returned the embrace.

"Why did he have to die?" He asked, his voice wavering into a whisper.

Sakura stroked her fingers through his hair gently.

"So that we could live."

Tears streamed down Storm's face as he buried his face into her shoulder.

Karin had never seen Storm like this, he was always so proud and quick tempered. To think it was to mask his sadness over the death of his brother. In a way, she felt relieved that he had a sensitive side.

Storm fell to his knees, his pain reverting him back to a 10 year old boy as he cried into Sakura's stomach.

Sakura scratched his head, her maternal instincts to comfort her brother like he was still a young boy.

"I know it hurts now, but you must let him go. Kain wouldn't want you to remember him like this. Okay."

Storm nodded.

Sakura helped him to his feet and wiped the tears away.

"I know you miss him. I miss him too. But grieving him will allow you to let him go and not be held down by your anger. That's why you haven't been able to use all of your power."

"You mean the reason I haven't been able to transform... was because of me?

"Yes, the demons of the Valentine Family can only be controlled with a clear mind. Rage was only hindering your strength."

Storm nodded in understanding.

"You probably need some time to yourself. Get some rest and you'll feel better." She suggested, rubbing his head roughly.

"Sure, I'll do that. Oh and by the way. I have something to give you, Sis. Consider it a late Birthday present." Said Storm.

" Oh I love presents, but give it to me later. You need your rest."

Karin watched as Storm left.

"Bahamut, did you know?" She asked.

"I am a mirror of one's desires and his desire until now has been the revenge of his brother. Nothing but pain and anger reflected from him. I think talking with his sister has helped relieve some of the pain he has suffered so once he has come to terms with himself, that desire will change." The dragon answered.

"I hope so. Maybe now he can find some peace and happiness."

"If that is what he desires."

Sakura watched Karin walk away from her hiding place and head off.

She let out a little sigh.

"What an interesting development."

XXXXX

Storm entered the infirmary and sat on the bed to clear his head.

Moments later a knock came at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Karin, can I come in?"

"The door's open."

Karin walked in and shut it behind her.

"You know there are living quarters on the ship?"

"Then why did you bother knocking?"

"Just being polite." She replied as she sat next to him.

"So how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Still a bit sore I guess. I heard that you saved my life."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? I was worried about you."

"Never looks that way. Most of the time we're fighting each other."

"No, most of the time you spent fighting with Raptor in a pissing contest over me."

Storm couldn't help but chuckle.

"I guess that's true. I'm sorry, but it's just that whenever he tried to act so aggressive, I felt so protective of you."

"In other words, jealous."

Storm became surprised, blushing a little.

Karin giggled.

_"Seeing him like this makes him seem sweet."_

She softly placed a hand on his.

"But it's nice that you felt you had to. He's not really my type anyway."

"What do you mean? Aside from being an asshole, he looked like he was charming you pretty good."

"I've known his kind all of my life. Mostly because I'm a princess, men have tried to charm me with words and gestures for the opportunity to be the next King. All of them were empty and hollow as their words, but you never treated me that way. You always spoke so candidly and open as if I were a normal person, not just a princess."

"But I'm..." Storm tried, but Karin shushed him by placing a finger to his lips.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I just want you to know how I feel."

Both looked into each other's eyes and slowly their faces began to drift closer, both leaning in as their lips were only inches apart.

"Give her some tongue, boy!"

Both of their eyes shot wide open and they broke away.

"Ifrit! What the hell!" Storm shouted in embarrassment.

"What I'd say?" Ifrit asked.

Bahamut just sighed exasperatedly.

"You ruined the mood, genius." He said.

They heard a noise and looked towards the door, seeing nothing but eyes peeking through the crack.

If Storm and Karin's face couldn't get any redder, they just did.

"Get out! This isn't a peek show!" Karin swung her staff at the door, causing the spectators to run.

"When I get my hands on you! You'll beg for mercy!" She shouted as she gave chase.

"Well that was unexpected." Storm said as he got off the bed.

"Hey, if you need some tips. Just let me know. I've got hundreds of years of experience." Ifrit suggested.

"I don't think we need to know each other that well."

"Well fire can represent the passion of love."

"Enough! I don't want to talk about it!" Storm said as he left the infirmary.

Nearby, something stirred.

It turned out to be Wedge, using Karin's cloak to hide.

"Hehe, looks like the great Ninja, Wedge escapes undetected."

XXXXX

After a long chase across the entire ship, Karin finally gave up and stormed off to her room.

The group had all reached the Common Area, exhausted, but it's better than being dead.

"Man, she can run when she's mad. I've never been so scared of anything in my entire life." Carlos heaved as he collapsed in a chair.

"I thought I was gonna have a heart attack." Said Cid.

"She probably would have skinned us alive." Said Shri-Lanka.

"Ah, to think that I would lose to Storm is almost unbelievable." Said Raptor, but not really sore about it.

"So how was it?"

They all turned to see Sakura enjoying a cup of coffee as she read a magazine.

"Horrible. Karin almost killed us. Why'd you tell us that anyway?" Asked Carlos.

"I love to gossip." She replied, taking a sip from her cup.

"Hey, where'd Wedge run off to?" Shri-Lanka asked, looking around.

"He's over there by the television." Sakura answered, not even looking away from her book.

"Aw man, how'd you know that I was there?" Wedge asked, taking off the cloak.

"My eyes can see everything. No matter how far or how well hidden you are, you're as plain as day to me. I can see through walls as if they were glass. I can even see into the future."

"No way!" Wedge said in amazement.

"Well the future part was a bit embellished." She mused.

"So what is the deal with your eyes? How come Storm doesn't have the same abilities as you?" Carlos asked.

Sakura set down her magazine.

"Well since you asked, I'll tell you."

She took another sip of her coffee as everyone got comfortable.

"The Valentine Bloodline has carried the demons with which we're known to transform into. But that only applies to the men of our family. You see, as men and women change during puberty, so does the power change for us as well.

"Males inherit the ability to transform into beasts and monsters as Kain is well known for. Of course, it can vary from person to person on how many different transformations one can accomplish. My grandfather could change into five different beasts, but he was best known for mimicking a Wendigo. Kain could only achieve one transformation and Storm has yet to transform, but he fights like Mother, strangely enough."

"So your mom was the one with the Valentine Blood?" Said Raptor.

"Yes, the women lack the ability to transform, so our bodies adapt the power in other ways. Mother was a great Martial Artist. She used her power like a Sixth Sense and could enhance her physical strength to be near godlike. Storm seems to be using it in a similar way to compensate for the years he hasn't transformed..."

She paused for a minute as if to think about her own words.

"Is it unusual for him? Asked Carlos.

"Now that you mention it. Men can't use their demon energy unless they transform. Aside from that, they are completely normal. I can use it to enhance my vision and materialize ammunition for my guns, which makes me a perfect marksman, but no man has ever been able to use demon energy. Yet he found a way, although in only short bursts, what he has done has never been done throughout our history."

At this time, Storm walked in, seeing all of their eyes on him.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, to which nobody replied. He paid them no attention, his gaze focused only on Raptor.

"Hey Raptor."

"What is it Storm?" Raptor asked.

Storm began to act tense as he crossed his arms and fidgeted a little as he looked away.

"I just want to say that... I'm uh... sorry for attacking you earlier."

Everyone except for Sakura nearly fell out of their seats.

Storm apologizing? Hell must be getting really cold right about now.

"There I said it. Are you happy now? He said to no one.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it? Karin said, walking into view.

The others began to edge away as her gaze fell on them.

"Don't think I have forgotten. I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you." Was all she said before leaving.

"I think I'll be leaving now. Good luck." Sakura said as she put away her magazine and threw away her coffee.

"Come one, Brother. You don't want to get caught up in this." She coaxed him with her arm and they both left.

"Phew, looks like I'm the only one that didn't get caught. You guys are screw..."

Wedge's face actually paled as everyone loomed over him with extremely angry looks homed in on him

"Uh oh."

Storm and Sakura could hear the cries of pain all the way down the ship.

"Future..." She snickered.

XXXXX

Alarms blared throughout the ship, causing everyone to wake up with a jolt.

"What's going on?" All of them were thinking as they headed for the Command Deck.

Cid was already there, busy with the controls.

"Are we under attack?" Asked Shri-Lanka.

"Not my people. They wouldn't dare attack royalty." Raptor defended.

"No, we're on a collision course with what looks to be a field of some sort." Cid explained.

"A magical barrier, they must have created it after I left." Raptor could see the mystical symbols in the distance, signaling a ward to any that would enter."

"Guess the Terrans really don't want anybody getting to their planet." Said Wedge, his head still covered with bumps.

"Is there a way around it?" Cid asked.

"No. This barrier encompasses the entire area. The only way is to go through it." Raptor explained.

"Well we'll need all of the Highwind's firepower for any future attacks. What other options do we have?" Cid asked.

_"Karin, use us. We'll clear a path." _Said Bahamut.

"Are you sure? We're in outer space." She asked.

"Essentially, we're energy so we have no need for air to live."

"It will be a piece of cake." Said Ramuh.

"Ok, looks like we have some volunteers." She said.

"Lets show them why we're called Beasts of Ruin." Said Bahamut as all of them flew through the ceiling, materializing on top of the ship.

They were all lined up side-by-side as their auras began to grow.

As they grew stronger, their appearance changed.

Bahamut had evolved to his second form. Black scaled with red runes and 4 wings.

In a united burst, their powers erupted.

"Hellfire!"

"Diamond Dust!"

"Judgment Bolt!"

"Zantezuken!"

Bahamut spread his wings wide as he got on all fours, digging his claws into the hull. He opened his mouth as energy began to build up, light shining from it.

A giant circle appeared before him, slowly lines began to move in a steady fashion, like a countdown, forming into a symbol.

"Gigaflare!" The blot shooting from his mouth, once hitting the symbol, magnified in size and strength 10 fold.

The party watched the attacks fly in streaks of light and energy.

The blasts obliterated the barrier with incredible force, shattering it like glass.

Everyone cheered as the beasts returned to their partners.

"That was awesome, Ramuh!"

"Way to go!"

The beasts felt pretty good being honored and they glowed a little from embarrassment.

"Now, on to Terra!"

Soon after the barrier, the planet came into sight, as was an enormous Armada before them.

"Whoa!" Was all anybody could say.

"Looks bigger than the last time I saw it." Cid said as he tapped off some ashes from his cigar.

A holographic screen appeared with a Terran on the screen.

"Unknown Gaian vessel! This is Rear Admiral Mase aboard the Celestial Shadow of the 23rd Fleet Defense. Identify yourself!" He ordered.

"This is Cid aboard the Highwind. I am the Captain of this ship and carrying Terran Royalty so I request safe passage." He replied.

Raptor stepped into view as the RA got a good look.

"So it is true that the Prince was on a Gaian Ship, but I hadn't expected to meet the infamous Blood Star."

Cid laughed a little.

"I heard that I had made a name for myself here, just never knew what it was."

"You will be escorted to the Palace. Please comply with these orders." RA Mase cut the transmission.

Four Destroyer Class ships broke from the Armada, each slightly smaller than the Highwind, surrounded it as they entered the atmosphere.

They lit on fire like meteors and soon after, everyone looked in awe as they gazed upon the alien planet.

Terra was very similar to Gaia in many ways, aside from every creature having the innate ability to use magic. No need of Materia or a conduit of any kind to channel it through.

The Highwind was escorted to a large clearing next to the palace, which was massive for a single building. It was closer to the size of a small city.

The escort broke away when the Highwind landed, returning to the Armada.

The hatched opened up to reveal an armed group of 20 men.

"Looks like these guys mean business." Whispered Carlos.

"The Magus Squad. The Elite Royal Guards of the Royal Family. Each is a Mage, second only to the Reys in power." Raptor explained.

The Commander walked up and crossed an arm over his chest in a militaristic fashion.

"Prince Raptor and his guests will follow us to meet her Majesty." He stated flatly.

Raptor nodded in acknowledgement as they were surrounded and led towards the palace.

"I just had a weird feeling of Deja vu." Wedge thought out loud.

As they left, a several small puddles of black liquid oozed from the crevices of the ship, dripping onto the ground.

"Re...reunion."

The party reached a pair of gigantic double doors, which opened slowly, allowing just enough room for them to walk through.

The Gaians looked around in wonder at the alien architecture and how everything had at least a soft tone of blue, white, and pink.

Before long, they had reached the Throne Room.

It looked more like a Cathedral with a ceiling high above them with portraits of Reys from long ago.

The Magus Squad halted and parted to allow them to pass.

Before them, sat the Queen of Terra, a woman of exquisite beauty with long white hair that cascaded over her shoulders onto her multicolored dress with runes similar to Raptors. Her mere presence was as if seeing a goddess as her otherworldly aura caused her clothes and hair to flow from an everlasting wind.

"Do as I do." Raptor said.

They approached her and followed Raptor's movements, which consisted of their salute followed by kneeling, not looking up at her.

"Queen Aurora, your son, Prince Raptor, has returned from his long journey on the planet Gaia. I hope that you have been well." He said in a very formal tone.

The woman nodded and beckoned with a hand.

"Please stand, my son and his companions. I have been sick with worry about your absence. You never bothered to tell me the reason why you left." Her voice like silk to one's ear.

"My humblest apologies, Mother. You know that I have been against this war since the beginning. In my desire to end this war with as few casualties as possible. I have tried to find proof to which could show that the King's death was not done by Gaian Assassins." He explained.

"And have you found this proof?" Came a voice as a man in an attire similar to Raptor's, walked to the Queen's left side.

"Warlord Alucard." Raptor said in distaste.

"So glad to see that you're safe and sound. We've been terribly worried since you've been gone." Alucard said with a lack of sincerity.

"So have you found proof of our late King's assassination?" He asked again.

Rapto grinded his teeth to maintain his composure.

"Unfortunately, I could not find the proof that I needed."

"So you've proved nothing is that what you are saying?" Alucard interjected.

"Watch your tongue! I still hold more authority than you!" Raptor shouted.

"If this were peacetime, yes, but according to our laws, a Warlord will have absolute authority during a time of war. Second only to the King and Queen of Terra." Alucard corrected.

"I am afraid that he is right, Raptor. Unless you have proof that your father was not killed by a Gaian, then this war cannot end." The Queen stated.

"Maybe there is another way. I have brought Princess Karin. We have discussed that there could be a treaty of peace that could be made. If you would but hear her words." Raptor stepped aside, giving Karin the position to speak.

"Your Majesty, I request that you..."

"Enough of this!" Alucard cut in.

"How dare you insult the Queen by bringing in this vermin! She stands before us in rags. Though she bears a resemblance to the princess, she may very well be an impostor!"

Karin had never heard such slander thrown at her that, for a moment, she was stunned.

Storm was ready to kill the man when Karin stopped him with her hand.

"Impostor! How dare you accuse that I am an impostor! I am Karin Sinclair, Daughter of the late King Griffin Sinclair! A man whom you killed in retaliation to your king's demise!" She shouted in utter ferocity.

Alucard grinned.

"Well you possess the temper of a spoiled brat, but we did so because you king would not give us a man who we suspected of having the power to kill a Rey. So we took matters into our own hands and my brother, at the cost of his life, managed to kill our king's assassin, Kain Valentine."

Storm's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpoints.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Before anyone could react, Storm shot by in a streak of black fire.

Alucard just watched as Storm headed right for him.

At the last second, Sakura and Raptor grabbed him, pulling him away with some difficulty restraining him.

"Calm down Storm! You can't touch a Rey unless you want a death sentence!" Raptor said.

"Let me go! He dared to call Kain an assassin! My brother died to stop an insane man from wiping out an entire continent of people!"

Alucard cracked a sneer as he looked at Storm and Sakura.

"So you are related to Kain. To think that you would make another attempt after all of this time. Trying to follow in your brother's footsteps."  
"What!" They said.

"Your Majesty, it appears that your son has spent too much time on Gaia. It appears that he has been brainwashed to bring assassins to kill of Terra's leaders."

"Alucard you bastard! Are you claiming that I have been conformed to a spy!" Raptor demanded.

"What claim? This young man proved that with his actions. We can't trust anything that you have to say." Alucard pointed out.

Raptor looked at his mother.

"Mother, you can't possibly believe what he is saying! I've done nothing but work for Terra's well being."

The Queen let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, son. I can't deny what I have just seen."

Raptor felt like his heart had been ripped out, seeing his own mother turn against him.

The Magus Squad surrounded the group.

"The only way for Terra's well being is to crush its enemies into oblivion! Take them away!" Alucard commanded.

Raptor blasted the squad away with a shockwave.

"Get out of here!" He ordered.

"No! We'll stand and fight with you!" They all said.

"No! It'll only make matters worse! Now go!" He shouted.

The others heeded his advice and made their way towards the exit as Raptor clashed with several members of the squad.

A number of mages blocked their path, but Sakura fired at the ground, creating a cloud of dust to hide them.

They burst through the cloud, they were almost at the exit.

They heard a scream and they turned to see Karin was grabbed as she struggled to break free.

"Karin!" Shri-Lanka and Wedge jumped in to help her before they were quickly surrounded.

"Get out of my way!" Shri-Lanka roared as she swung her Naginata, crushing the ground before her as she engaged in combat.

"Karin!" Raptor turned, but as he did, Alucard came down on him, pinning him to the ground with a foot on his head.

"You're not going anywhere, Prince." He chuckled as he motioned a finger into a spell of light that locked Raptor's limbs together.

Storm tried to help them, but Sakura and Cid grabbed him and carried him to the door.

"What are you doing? Our friends are in trouble!" Storm shouted.

"Now's not the time! We're no good if we're caught along with them!" Cid told him.

"Don't worry, we'll come back for them." Sakura assured him as they continued to run.

Carlos covered the rear as he fired his magic at them, which was barely holding them off.

"They're tough bastards aren't they!"

He reared back his fists and sent a barrage of shockwaves to the ceiling, causing large debris to fall towards the ground.

"Hang in there, guys! We'll get you out no matter what it takes!" He shouted as he turned, the debris blocking the exit and the pursuit.

Storm had finally calmed down as he stared at the pile of rubble where the others were.

_"Everyone, I swear that I'll save you! Even if I die!"_


	10. The Price of War

The Price of War

Screams echoed throughout the bowels of the castle. Screams of agony as Raptor was relentlessly tortured for hours since his capture.

He breathed deeply as he fought to stay conscious, blood dripping from long cuts and bruises on his body.

"Again."

A Mage activated a lever as electricity surged through Raptor's body, which began to spasm as he cried out in pain.

After a moment that seemed like forever, the torture stopped, his body going limp.

Alucard chuckled as he walked up to the kneeling man, leaning over to have a better look.

"My, my, how the mighty have fallen. You know how long I've waited to see your good looks get thrashed.

Raptor was struck in the face by another Mage, sending blood flying against the far wall.

"Don't even think about breaking these restraints, they were designed to hold a Rey's power so it's futile to think that you can escape."

"You son of a bitch. You want this war to continue. You're no different than your brother was."

"True, but he played his part. He had the power, but not the brains to succeed as a Rey so I made use of him, killing the only threat Gaia had at stopping this war."

"What of the others?" Raptor asked.

"Them? They'll soon be executed for conspiring and attempting the assassination of the Queen."

"You bastard! You won't get away with this!"

"I already have. You were always too smart for your own good. Luckily you had a weakness for these lesser life forms as did your mother so I had to give her a little push."

"What do you mean by that?" Raptor demanded.

Alucard leaned in closer so that only he could hear.

"The one who killed your father, was me."

Raptor roared with fury as he lunged with all of his might, but his restraints held him fast.

"Ah ah ahhh. Princes should always maintain their composure. I'm sure that your mother wouldn't want you to die, but I'll make sure that you never leave this cell as long as you live."

With that, he and the Mages left, leaving Raptor alone in the dark.

XXXXX

Queen Aurora stood at the edge of her balcony, which overlooked a beautiful sunset over the far mountains.

"Does something trouble you, my Queen?" Alucard asked as he knelt down.

"It's just since this war, Raptor has been wanting me to end it, saying that it wasn't right. Now he is imprisoned deep under the castle under the suspicion of treason." She said.

"Your Majesty. I don't want this war anymore than you do, but they must pay for the death of our king with interest."

"But don't you think this is enough? The people are suffering on our side as well and the assassin has long since been dead. Is this really necessary?"

Alucard stood up and approached her.

"If that is what you wish, but to end this war now could be shown as a sign of weakness to the enemy. They could invade our home world and more would suffer."

The Queen nodded.

"And what of the captives?"

"Unfortunately, they did threaten you life and so they must be punished for their crimes."

"But the Princess?"

"Like I said before, she is merely an impostor to sway you to drop your guard. This is the way things must happen."

"If it must, make their deaths quick." She said.

Alucard grinned as he knelt.

"Certainly, your Majesty."

XXXXX

Within another section of the underground prison, Karin, Shri-Lanka, and Wedge were held in a small cell with thick iron bars. Their weapons confiscated.

The women heard the sound of a metal door opening and slamming.

Before them stood a Mage.

"As criminals of Terra, you are hereby sentenced to be executed tomorrow morning. I have been sent here by the Warlord Alucard to ask for your last meal." He stated. "Our chefs are able to make any dish that you may desire."

Karin just sat on her bed, starring at the wall.

"I'm not hungry." She replied.

"Come on, Karin. You have to eat something. I'll share mine with you, okay." Shri-Lanka said as she turned to the man.

"Yeah, I'll have a smoked tuna with grilled salmon and Calamari with the strongest liquor you got." She ordered.

"And I'll have every dessert you can make. If I'm dying, I'm dying with a stomachache." Wedge yelled from the back, mostly hidden by the shadows.

As the man wrote down their requests, the boy stepped out and walked straight up to the man with a sly grin.

"You know, one-on-one, I could kick your ass. You Magus guys are nothing but a bunch of lap dogs on a short leash, ain't cha."

"Wedge!" Before Shri-Lanka could stop him, the Mage in anger used his magic to send the boy crashing into the wall, letting him slide to the ground in a heap.

"You Gaians are nothing but talk. Just be glad that your suffering ends tomorrow." And he left.

Shri-Lanka ran to her brother and cradled him in her arms.

"Wedge, what the hell were you thinking? Have you lost your mind?"

Wedge grinned at her before he popped into a smoke cloud, leaving her bewildered.

"Well that was useless. I hoped that he would've had the key on him." Said Wedge from out of nowhere.

The woman looked at him and back at her empty hands and back at him.

"Don't worry Sis. It's something I've been working on. The scroll called it Kage Bunshin no Jutzu, a way to create a copy of myself. Pretty neat huh?" He said.

Shri-Lanka looked at his hand, which was dripping with blood.

"But it does have a price. To create a clone, I have to use my own life. Basically, the more I make, the more life it takes from me. Maybe someday I'll get strong enough to make a hundred of them." He said.

"So you think Storm and the others will be able to save us?" Karin asked.

"Karin, you should have the most hope out of all of us. Cheer up. I know they'll find a way." Wedge answered, trying to keep their spirits up.

Karin did feel reassured as she smiled a little.

_"Storm, I hope you're okay."_

XXXXX

Raptor had no sense of time since he had been locked up, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours since they left him.

"That fucking bastard! I knew he had a hand in making this war happen, but I never would have guessed that he would have killed Father for it."

He tried once again to break the chains, but they wouldn't budge.

"Yep, he was prepared for this, but so was I."

He took a few breaths before sticking his fingers in his mouth, forcing himself to regurgitate two Materia.

"Glad I didn't eat or this would have been a lot messier."

He grabbed one in his hand and looked at it.

"This should work if these chains were only meant to stop my magic."

His body was covered in smoke. The chains clattered to the ground as the smoke receded to reveal a very tiny Raptor.

"That's better, now to reverse the spell." He grabbed the other materia as a soft green light surrounded him, returning him to normal.

He cracked his neck as he checked him body for serious damage, which was minimal at best.

"Alright then. Those chains were meant to hold me, but I doubt the walls were."

He clenched a fist as his magic channeled through it and fired.

XXXXX

Morning had come and all of them were being led out from the castle, their wrists bound and wearing white collars to control them by remote, flanked by half of the Magus Squad.

They slowly approached in a single line towards a tall white obelisk with a winding set of stairs leading to the top which had numerous spectators.

Upon reaching the top, the three were placed at the center of the tower, facing a ledge that stretched about 10 meters to a sudden drop far below to a large black pit.

The Queen and Alucard were there as well with the other half of the Magus Squad.

"Welcome to the Purification Spire. This is where your souls will be cleaned of all your sins."

Alucard walked to the ledge and raised his hands over the pit. From his hands, a ball of fire materialized and floated before him, which he let fall far below into the pit.

In a flash, a monstrous pillar of fire shot into the air, even higher than the tower, blowing Alucard's robe back before residing to a constant blaze.

"Through the Dragon's Mouth, so shall you meet whatever god you pray to." The man said as he turned back to them, a slight grin on his face.

"And so both Terra and Gaia shall witness what happens to those who dare threaten the Royal Family." Alucard spread his arms wide in declaration.

XXXXX

Sakura, Cid, Carlos, and Storm stood from the timberline of a nearby mountain.

"Ok, we might have a shot at breaking them out. They won't expect a jailbreak so soon." Cid suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Sakura, can you see where they are?" Storm asked.

Sakura's eyes changed as she peered into the castle.

"No, they're not there." She answered.

"What do you mean, 'not there'?" Carlos asked.

"Like I said. They must've been moved since last night."

She focused harder, going through every floor, every room, but still no sign of their friends.

"Come on, where are you?" She said to herself.

She noticed a group of people had gathered outside the castle.

"Something's not right."

The people were around an ivory white tower, looking higher to see them on top.

"I found the, but they're in trouble."

"What!" Storm shouted. "Where!"

"That white tower." She pointed.

Even from their great distance, they could see the fire pillar roar to life.

"It looks like it's starting, with Karin being the first one to be executed."

"They're about to execute Karin!" Storm's rage erupted into pure fire around him, nearly knocking his comrades away.

XXXXX

Karin walked by Queen Aurora and Alucard, looking them in the eye.

"Your Highness, don't you believe that killing me will only make this war escalate? I humbly request that you consider my offer. Like your son, I too wish for peace between our people like we did before." She stated.

"She doesn't have to consider anything. What's best for our people is to eliminate your kind from existence." Said Alucard.

A Mage forced her towards the ledge.

"How much blood must be spilled before you're satisfied, you warmonger!" Karin shouted over her shoulder.

The others wanted to help, but the collars kept them from moving to her aid.

Karin was only a few feet away from the edge.

"All right! All right! I can do it myself you moron!" She shouted, which surprised the man into releasing her hold.

"Thank you." She said as she straightened her clothes as she prepared herself and stepped forward.

"Karin!" Wedge and Shri-Lanka shouted.

She turned around to face them with a teary smile.

"Thank you for always being there for me. I haven't felt such happiness since my father and mother died. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Karin closed her eyes, as he tears rolled down her cheeks.

_"I'm not afraid anymore. I only wish I could see you one more time. I love you, Storm."_

She leaned back, letting gravity take her as she plummeted towards the massive pillar of fire.

_"Bahamut, are you okay with this?"_

_"Yes, Karin. If that is your desire?"_

_"Thank you. At least I won't die alone." _She said as she disappeared into the fire.

XXXXX

"KARIN!" Storm roared as he shot across the sky, the air exploding from the sonic boom as it literally caught on fire. The ground exploding from the shockwave moments after he passed by.

XXXXX

Everyone saw a glimpse of black fire before the shockwave slammed into them like a sledgehammer.

The Spire shook violently as long cracks traveled along its once smooth surface.

"What the hell was that!" Shouted Alucard.

He walked to the ledge and saw the fire extinguished.

"Impossible! I'm the only one who can stop the Dragon's Mouth once it's been lit!"

The black streak appeared before him, causing him to jump back.

A cocoon of black fire swirled around in a torrent of heat. It cast off into a pair of fire wings, revealing Storm, cradling Karin in his arms.

Karin opened her eyes to see Storm looking down at her.

"Is this a dream or heaven?" She asked.

"Not at all. You're still very much alive." Storm answered as he let her down, the wings fading from his back.

His eyes set on Alucard with demonic killing intent.

"As for you. I'll make you wish you were dead when I'm through with you."

Alucard chuckled a little.

"You think you can beat me? Alucard, the Warlord of Terra. I don't know where you got all of that power, but it isn't enough to be my match."

"Then how about me?"

Alucard almost had a heart attack when he heard that voice as he turned to see Raptor walking towards them.

"But...but how could you have escaped? Those chains can't be broken, even by you!"

Raptor threw his materia at Alucard's feet.

"You think I searched Gaia and learned nothing? I didn't have to break them."

Alucard clenched his fist in anger as the Prince gave him a wide grin.

"And another thing. Mother, the one who killed our king was none other than Alucard himself. He confessed openly to me, using his death to start a war between us and Gaia. This was all started because of him."

Raptor pointed an accusing finger at the man.

"What are you talking about? That is utter lunacy. You are nothing but a traitor who deserves to die! Magus Squad!" He commanded.

"Wait!" The Queen commanded, to which they obeyed.

"Did Alucard truly confess to the murder of your father?" She asked.

Raptor walked to his mother and knelt down, taking her hand.

"I swear, on my father's life, he was not killed by Kain Valentine." He swore.

Alucard's face twisted in anger.

"Fine, I did kill that peace-loving fool! It was only a matter of time before we would have gone to war anyway. I just sped up the process."

He turned to the Magus Squad.

"I will be the next King of Terra and any who aid me by killing these ingrates shall receive the title of Rey!" He shouted.

Such an opportunity hardly ever came, even to a Mage.

Without hesitation, they prepared to attack.

Suddenly one Mage was shot across the tower , flying into the air before exploding.

Everybody seemed confused by what just happened.

XXXXX

Sakura was looking down the barrel of the Death Penalty, smoke lazily floating from it.

"Forget about me? Big mistake." Her eyes focused in on her targets, locking on each Mage.

"Dead Shot!"

In less than a second, she fired off 19 more rounds, each a streak of demon energy.

XXXXX

The Magus Squad was gone in a flash, followed by a sequence of explosions.

"Looks like you're all alone, Alucard." Raptor snapped his fingers and the captives collars came off.

"Here, I thought you could use these." He tossed them their weapons.

"Don't think that you've won because of this!" Alucard claimed.

"Oh no, I'll have won when I've killed you for killing my father!" Raptor declared.

"Really, you think that you can beat me all by yourself?"

"I'm sure that my chances are better now that you don't have the Magus Squad backing you up."

Raptor snapped into a fighting position.

"Then lets see what you've got!" Alucard's magical aura exploded around his body.

_"Storm, Karin, please get my mother out of here. She mustn't get involved with this." He said._

They understood and did as he asked.

Karin walked up to Aurora.

"You highness, would you please come with us." She said, to which the Queen obliged and they left the tower.

Raptor was relieved as he focused on Alucard.

"Time to take out the trash!"

He charged the man and delivered a powerful punch, which Alucard blocked by crossing his arms.

The force of the blow still knocked him out of the tower, sending him into the ground which split upon impact.

Raptor landed at the crash site just as Alucard crawled from the hole, then dusted himself off.

"Is that it?" I thought that you would be better sport than this."

Raptor grinned.

"Just leveling the playing field."

Alucard cocked an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?"

"You haven't noticed. I sealed you ability to fly."

Alucard's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course only a Rey can seal another Rey's power at the cost of the same ability. So I too can no longer fly."

"What sense does that make? Have you gone insane?"

"Not at all, but it does make it easier for my friends."

Shri-Lanka and Wedge were the first to show up, followed by Carlos and Cid.

"So you think your chances have gotten any better because of the vermin."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall. I've fought with them and they are all as strong as a Mage if not stronger."

"Whatever. If you wish to die along with them than so be it!"

XXXXX

Storm and Karin finally got the Queen to the castle.

"Thank you for escorting me. And I am truly sorry for what I've done. I had no idea that Alucard could have been responsible for this war." She apologized.

"It's alright, your Majesty. We were all fooled by his grand scheme to create a coup against you." Karin assured her.

"When this is all over, lets rediscuss this treaty." The Queen asked.

"It would be my pleasure. Storm, lets go."

XXXXX

The group fought with everything they had, calling forth their Beasts to assist in the battle.

Alucard was having a hard time fending off claws, fangs, and swords.

"Enough of this!" Alucard raised a hand as dark tendrils of energy shot from his fingers, each one piercing a beast.

"What?" They said as they looked at their chests.

"Divine Crush!"

The Beasts let out yells of pain before collapsing, returning to their partners.

Alucard laughed.

"Impressive, but magic creatures are something that I specialize in, so now that they are sealed away. I'll show you what a true monster is. Come forth! Tiamat!"

The ground began to shake before splitting open as a giant dragon burst from a volcanic eruption. It was a massive beast with blood red scales and a head with many black spiraling horns on its head and nose.

It let out a great roar that forced everyone to cover their ears.

"Go my pet, Slaughter them!"

Raptor cursed as it charged them.

"Great, I never thought he'd bring out that damned lizard!"

He turned to the others.

"Can you handle this one by yourself? I've got unfinished business."  
"Go ahead kid. We got this!" Cid said, raising his spear.

Raptor nodded before breaking away.

"All right guys! Lets give this oversized purse hell!" Cid declared.

Tiamat's chest began to glow brightly deep within it as it opened its mouth.

"Looks like he's starting this party off right!" Cid yelled.

Just before Tiamat could fire, a bullet struck its nose horn, knocking its head upward as it spouted a torrent of flame into the air.

Everyone turned to see Sakura walking up, carrying her rifle arrogantly over her shoulder.

"Miss me?" She asked.

"You sure like to make an entrance!" Cid laughed.

"You know it." Sakura said as she holstered it to bring out her twin pistols, Pain and Suffering.

"From now on, keep an eye on its heart. Whenever it's ready to fire, it heats up to build up its attack. That's its weakspot."

"Roger." Said Carlos.

Tiamat roared.

"We heard ya the first time!" Cid shouted back.

XXXXX

Explosions covered the battlefield as Raptor and Alucard clashed, their battle reshaping the landscape. Alucard leaped into the air as Onyx light shined from his hands.

"Shadow Flare!"

Raptor braced himself as the beam of dark magic was hurled towards him.

Rearing back his left hand, he let out a yell as he slapped the attack away, aiming with his right.

"White Lightning!"

The bolt crackled violently as it launched towards the man, whose deflected attack obliterated a mountain.

Alucard raised a barrier just before the attack hit, exploding on contact.

Alucard blew the smoke away to see Raptor in a sprint.

"Lavalanche!" Alucard struck the ground with his fist, causing it to split as a tsunami of magma erupted and began to head towards Raptor.

Raptor paused briefly as the wave came crashing down before he vanished.

Alucard snickered as he watched Raptor become immersed in molten rock.

"You should work on your aim."

Alucard was surprised as he was blasted from behind, swallowed into a giant explosion.

"I guess that I'm the winner." Raptor said with a smirk.

"Guess again."

The smoke cleared to reveal Alucard with not even a scratch, much to Raptor's shock.

"No way, that was a point black shot.

Alucard chuckled as he turned around.

"I'll admit that you've improved since you received the title of Rey, but I've taken precautions to make sure that nobody could stand against me."

Alucard ripped off his tattered robe.

"Allow me to demonstrate."

XXXXX

"Blizzaga!"

Tiamat has hit by a falling meteor of ice, making it roar in anger as it swung at Shri-Lanka.

"Dammit! It's like everything we throw at it is useless!"

"That doesn't mean that we can give up!" Shouted Carlos as he and Wedge maneuvered around either side.

Tiamat made a swing with its tail, knocking Carlos away.

The Martial Artist righted himself in the air as he charged his ki.

"Thundaga!"

The dragon roared as a thunderstorm appeared above it and struck it repeatedly with powerful bolts.

Wedge took this chance to get in close and carve its hide with several deep gashes before it had a chance to retaliate.

"Hey cowgirl, can you give me some cover-fire!" Cid shouted.

Sakura snickered. "Whatever you say, Old Man."

The woman's guns began to charge as she took aim.

"Devil Trigger!"

Cid crowed as he charged the beast head-on as Sakura's blasts kept it occupied. He stabbed his weapon into the ground to pole vault himself at the dragon's head. By some miracle, he landed on its nose, impaling it with the blade.

Tiamat thrashed about, trying to shake the man off.

"Whoa! Time to abandon ship!" He pulled out the blade and leaped off, very badly as he flailed about before crashing.

He groaned in pain as he lay sprawled on the ground.

Tiamat was furious as it raised a claw to crush him.

"This is gonna hurt." Cid said as he looked at the descending claw.

Shri-Lanka came in and raised her Naginata to block the strike, the force causing her feet to sink several inches into the ground.

"What the hell were you thinking, doing something like that!" She shouted at him.

Cid chuckled a little.

"It's all up here, Darling." He tapped his head with a finger.

"Plus I got rescued by a beautiful lady."

Shri-Lanka rolled her eyes.

"I think you're a little old for me." She replied.

"Well can't blame a guy for trying."

Sakura grabbed Cid and carried him away as Shri-Lanka jumped back, the claws coming down after.

"So just what is your plan?" Sakura asked.

"I just placed a homing beacon on that monster when I stabbed it. Using that beacon, I can use the ship's armaments to kill it in one big attack."

"Will it work?" Shri-Lanka asked.

"As big as that is, of course it will, even if that thing is armored like a tank."

"Got it. We'll keep it busy." The two women took off as Cid pulled out a remote control from his jacket and pressed a sequence of buttons.

"Now let the fireworks begin."

XXXXX

Back at the castle, the Highwind opened several dozen missile pods, which shot missiles vertically into the air before changing course as they screamed towards the battlefield.

XXXXX

"I think now would be a good time to run!" Cid shouted.

Sakura's eyes caught the incoming missiles.

"He's not kidding!" She said, to which everyone took off in every direction.

Tiamat was unaware of what was about to happen before it was hit by the barrage of missiles, each one packing half a kiloton of explosives, swallowing the beast in swells of fire.

After the explosives subsided, the area was covered in a giant dust cloud.

It finally began to fade to find the epicenter completely devastated. Nothing but craters remained.

Sakura, Carlos, Wedge, Cid, and Shri-Lanka each discovered that they didn't have a scratch on them despite they were still inside the blast zone.

Then they realized that a barrier had protected them.

"Looks like we made it just in time." Said Karin, as she and Storm reached Cid.

"Thanks for the help. I guess I overdid it." Cid scratched the back of his head.

"I'll say you did." Storm agreed.

The others were very pissed off at Cid.

"You asshole! You nearly got us killed! Are you stupid!" They all began to shout.

"Well it worked didn't it. That's all that matters."

"Uh, I don't think it did." Karin said, pointing as the red scales could be seen through the smoke.

"Damn that thing is tough! Maybe I didn't get a direct hit."

Even still, Tiamat was severely damaged.

With a roar, it flapped its great wings and took to the air.

As it did, it began to build up for another attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura cocked her guns and fired, but her bullets ricocheted off a magic barrier.

"Crap, I didn't think it was smart enough to use magic." She said.

"That attack could wipe us out." Stated Wedge.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Karin said as she stepped forward, calling Bahamut.

"Bahamut! Stop that monster!"

"As you wish!" Bahamut's wings spread wide as he took off straight for Tiamat.

With a mighty breath, Tiamat fired downwards.

Bahamut didn't waver as the wave of fire slammed into him.

He grunted under the strain of such power, which was beginning to push him down.

He grit his teeth as he fought to keep his ground, but this dragon was indeed a powerful creature.

"He's losing." Someone said.

Karin began to worry as she watched him struggle against a stronger adversary.

"No, you can't lose." She whispered.

"What is your desire?" He asked, the fire pushing him closer to the ground.

"What?" She asked.

"What is your desire, Princess?" He asked again.

"I want you to win!" She shouted with all of her might.

Bahamut's eyes shined as he growled deep in his throat.

The red markings began to turn green as they traveled up his body.

His back bulged as he grew another pair of wings, his arms and chest became encased in armor. His face was then covered by an emerald green helmet with a long spike extending from the nose.

He opened his mouth as energy hummed with intensity.

"Terra Flare!"

Bahamut's ultimate attack tore through Tiamat's attack like it wasn't even there.

The great dragon was consumed by the blast as it shot across the alien sky, blowing clouds away and causing the land to shake for miles around.

Bahamut let out some deep breaths as Tiamat's ashes fell away to be carried off by the wind.

"It is done." He said as he slowly landed, his body spent.

"Bahamut!" Karin said.

The Dragon King looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry, Princess. I just need to rest for a while."

And he closed his eyes, returning to the ring on her right hand.

"You did well. Now rest and let us handle it from here." She told him.

XXXXX

Raptor crashed into the ground, his body embedded from the impact.

Alucard placed a foot next to his head as he leaned over him.

"Looks to me that you're having some trouble keeping up. Need some help?" He asked with that godawful smirk.

"Never!" Raptor's aura destroyed the ground around him as he teleported behind Alucard.

"Nice try." Alucard teleported from Raptor's kick to blindside him with an elbow strike to the ribs.

Raptor rolled for a distance before correcting to stand on his feet.

Blood was dripping from a wound on his head, getting in his eye as he wiped it away.

"I don't understand. We're both Reys yet the gap in power is this much. It's taking all I've got just to stay alive."

"If this is all you have to offer then I might as well end this before you bring further embarrassment to our race." Alucard began to channel an enormous amount of magic into his hands.

"so I'll finish you with my Cosmic Cataclysm!"

An orb of energy hovered above him which radiated light like a disco ball.

"Die!"

The lights shot beams of energy at Raptor's direction, creating destruction in their wake.

After the attack finished, Alucard was hoping to see Raptor's dead body.

Instead, he saw Raptor was gone.

"Impossible! He couldn't avoid that attack as injured as he was!"

"Hey jackass!"

Alucard turned to see Carlos and Storm both in the air as they jump-kicked him in the face, sending him flying away with their combined force.

"Good job, Ifrit!" Storm said as the beast came beside him, carrying Raptor in his mouth.

"Had to make it dramatic at the last second." Ifrit set the man down before returning to Storm's ears.

Karin quickly began to heal Raptor's wounds.

"Thanks, I owe ya one." Raptor said as he felt his pain subsiding.

"Now's not the time. Looks like this guy is enough to give us trouble if you can't beat him."

"That's the problem. Even on Gaia I continued to train yet he somehow managed to obtained immense power in only a year." Raptor explained.

"Would it have something to do with the amulet around his neck?" Sakura asked.

Raptor's eyes widened in realization.

"Amulet? What does it look like?"

Sakura focused closer as Alucard stood up, looking at what his clothes were hiding.

"It looks like a spider with a large jewel in its abdomen."

"Shit of all the things!"

"What does he have?" Sakura demanded.

"The Heart of Terra. A royal heirloom that gives its wearer incredible power, making a Rey nigh-invincible. We can't beat him while he's wearing it."

"Well then we'll just have to break it." Storm said.

"What? Didn't you understand what I just said."

"I understand just fine. The amulet might make him invincible, but I doubt the amulet itself is."

Storm turned to Raptor.

"If we can destroy the amulet, can you finish him off?" He asked in all seriousness.

Raptor nodded.

"Then lets go everybody!" Everyone charged together.

Alucard growled as he watched them heading his way.

"You pathetic inferior pieces of garbage! I'll wipe you all out at once!" He declared as he prepared another Cosmic Cataclysm.

"Karin!" Storm shouted.

Karin raised her staff.

"Gaia's Fury!"

The area surrounding the group glowed with shimmering amber light, making the group filled with power.

"Sakura! We need to know where that amulet is!"

"I'm on it little bro!" She jumped high into the air, her Demon Eyes zooming in on Alucard's amulet.

"Let me show you the power of the Valentine Family!"

She brought out the Death Penalty, wielding it single-handedly as she pooled all of her demonic energy into the weapon.

The rifle began to morph, growing in size as more barrels appeared, totaling 7 with the extra 6 around the 7th like a chain gun.

When it finished transforming, it had fused to her arm and was as big as a cannon, crackling with raw power.

"Death Rose!"

The gun fired with an explosive kick, shaking the air as the 7 shots fired simultaneously.

Alucard was too preoccupied with his attack to guard the blasts as they erupted into a mushroom cloud, resembling a fiery rose.

"You think something like that can stop me!"

Alucard blasted the fire away with a wave of his hand, revealing the amulet from his burned robe.

Storm was already in his face, staring into Alucard's eyes with his demon red ones.

"Rage of Hades!"

Storm's fist struck the amulet, consuming the men in a black tornado of fire.

The amulet now had a slight crack at its center.

Alucard was unaware of their tactic, just thinking they were in a suicide rush.

"Try all you want! You'll never be able to kill me with such power!"

Storm was hammered by a punch across the face, sending him sliding back from where his came.

Carlos roared as his right fist surged with ki as he moved so fast, he left afterimages of himself.

"Final Heaven!"

Alucard was swallowed by blazing white light when Carlos' fist struck him, the crack becoming bigger.

Carlos shot back from a blow he received as Cid came from above.

"Dragon Disaster!"

The spear lit up with power as he collided with Alucard, the area exploding into a crater.

Cid was launched back by a magic blast.

Wedge began to multiply into five copies, surrounding Alucard in a star formation.

"Shinobi Secret Art! Forbidden Pentagram!"

Light connected the five, forming the star before immense light shot upwards like a beam cannon that stretched far beyond the sky.

"You lousy insect!" He began to fire rapidly at the Demi as he panicked to avoid the blasts.

"It's all your Sis!" Wedge leaped away as Shri-Lanka charged in and jumped into the air, raising her Naginata over her head.

"Fenrir's Fang!"

She began to spin into a red buzzsaw as she fell right on top of Alucard, shredding the amulet to pieces.

Alucard heard the amulet shatter as he looked down.

"The Heart of Terra. That's what they were after."

Raptor wasted no time, releasing his bind on Alucard to regain flight as he launched himself like a rocket.

"Alucard! Your reign ends here!"

Raptor rammed the man, propelling both of them away from the others as they disappeared into the sky.

Seconds later, a massive explosion that shook the entire planet filled the sky.

Now all that remained was silence.

The party waited, until they could finally see someone falling, which luckily turned out to be Alucard.

He crashed into the ground, motionless.

Raptor was soon to follow, landing before his foe's body.

The others reached them as they looked over Alucard.

"Is he dead?" Wedge asked.

"No. He refuses to die." Raptor answered.

Alucard twitched and groaned as he slowly sat up, glaring at the Prince.

"This isn't over you spoiled brat!" He swore.

"I think it is. Without the Heart of Terra, you're not strong enough to beat all of us." Raptor replied.

"It doesn't matter. I'll find another way."

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen. Alucard, as of now, you are stripped of your title as Rey and the Warlord of Terra for the murder of the King and the attempted coup of the throne." He decreed.

Alucard struggled to his feet.

"So what! I will be King of Terra one way of another! I would have spared your life if only your mother had accepted my Marriage proposal all those years ago! Soon I'll be the one in control! It will all be mine! All mine!"

Suddenly, the cloaked creatures sprang from every direction as if waiting for this moment.

Nobody saw it coming or had time to react as the figures pounced on Alucard.

"How did they get here! We gotta stop them!" Everyone began to shout.

Alucard struggled as he reached out a hand, desperately grasping at air.

Raptor tried to grab it, but it was pulled back into the pile.

"The Reunion has come." They said.

The struggles ceased as the pile conformed into a body.

The being was a man, very tall with long silver hair, a 6 foot long No-dachi, and emerald green eyes that glimmered with pure evil as did his smirk.

"So I've finally returned."


	11. One Winged Angel

One-Winged Angel

"Ah, how long has it been. I wonder." The man said in a cool fashion as he took in the landscape.

"This can't be my world. No matter, the entire universe belongs to me."

The group just watched him as he shouldered his weapon.

"Any idea what's going on?" Wedge asked.

Everybody shook their heads.

"The others before were grotesque with basic intellect at best. But this is something entirely different." Said Shri-Lanka.

Raptor stepped forward.

"Excuse me, but just who are you?" He demanded.

"What would a peon like you gain from me answering." The man replied.

Raptor was actually shocked to be called something so belittling and quickly became angered.

"Who do you think you are?" I am Prince Raptor! One of the 5 Reys of Terra! I can destroy entire continents with my power!"

The man stopped looking and turned around.

"I am Sephiroth, and I can destroy worlds with mine."

That name rang a bell.

"Sephiroth. The one who almost destroyed Gaia?" Said Storm.

"So you've heard of me. I know none of you yet I see so many familiar faces."

Sephiroth's gaze fell on each of them one by one. Finally his eyes landed on Karin.

"So you are the descendant of Cloud, the only man to have ever defeated me. Finally I can end his bloodline once and for all."

Karin paled as his words pierced her like blades of ice.

Everyone stood in his way to protect her.

"The only thing that will end is you!" Raptor dashed, preparing his attack.

Sephiroth pointed his blade at the ground before charging as well.

Both passed each other in an instant. Sephiroth's blade was dripping with blood.

Raptor's eyes were wide with shock.

"How? I didn't even see him move."

Blood sprayed from a long cut across his chest before he collapsed to the ground.

Sephiroth slung the blood from his blade as he casually walked towards Karin.

With anger and rage in their cries, they charged the man.

Carlos was the first to fall as he swung a vicious barrage of punches and kicks that the man seemed to avoid half-heartedly before getting behind the martial artist, cutting him down from behind.

Shri-Lanka swung her Naginata down with all her might, but Sephiroth deflected the blade to strike the ground with volatile force. He didn't give her time to react as he thrust a foot into her chest, shattering her ribs like glass.

Wedge had appeared behind him, his weapon raised to strike. His attack was halted as he felt a deep pain in his stomach.

Sephiroth had turned to blade around, thrusting without looking back.

The boy's arm lowered as he slumped to the ground.

The man pulled the sword from Wedge's abdomen and continued on his steady pace towards the girl.

Cid dashed, trying to impale Sephiroth, who jumped over the blade, raising his No-dachi over his head as he swung down.

The man barely managed to raise his weapon to block, the edge just inches from his face.

That was the last thing he saw before Sephiroth's fist smashed into his face, driving his head into the ground like a hammer.

Sakura charged in, firing her guns.

Sephiroth swiftly knocked away the bullets with dazzling swordplay.

She leaped over him in a high arc, never letting her fingers off the trigger, but nothing was getting by that sword.

He smirked as he caught a bullet along the edge of his sword, redirecting it along his blade as he threw it back at her, piercing her shoulder.

The bullet provided enough of a distraction as Sephiroth closed in, stabbing her stomach. She coughed up blood, but she fought through it as she raised her guns again and pulled the trigger.

Sephiroth dodged the bullets and answered by twisting the blade, causing her to drop her guns as she fell over.

Storm couldn't believe his sister had fallen as the man grinned at her body.

"You son of a bitch!" He charged in to cleave his head from his shoulders.

Sephiroth blocked the attack with his sword.

"No matter what you say. A worm will always be a worm."

Sephiroth forced Storm's swords over his head and impaled him through the chest.

Storm let out a gurgle as Sephiroth lifted him from the ground with one hand, letting Storm's body slide towards him.

"I will eliminate all who dare get in my way."

Sephiroth swung Storm down, throwing him from the sword, causing him to bounce from the impact.

The man walked beside Storm, ramming the sword through his back.

Storm let out a cry before the sword was pulled the blade out.

Karin was paralyzed by fear, seeing all of her friends massacred by one man as if they were nothing.

She watched as he took his time getting to her. She couldn't move, looking into his eyes were like looking into the eyes of death itself.

Warm tears began to run down her cheeks as he reached her.

"You are scared to die. Don't worry, soon you never have to feel fear anymore."

He said as he pulled her into an embrace as he gently stroked her hair.

Storm was struggling to breath with one of his lungs punctured as he pulled himself towards them.

"No, don't you touch her!" He said raggedly.

Karin could see Storm dragging himself towards them, leaving a long trail of blood along the ground.

_"No Storm, run away. I don't want you to die too."_

"Farewell, Daughter of Cloud."

Karin let out a gasp as the sword pierced her heart, exiting out of her back.

Storm's pain magnified as he watched Karin fall in a heap.

"Karin! Nooo!" He cried as he fought with all he had to reach her.

Sephiroth felt like a large weight was lifted off of him as he slung Karin's blood from his sword.

"Now, there is now one left to oppose me! This world and the rest of the universe will once again belong to the Ancients!" He said as a single black wing materialized on his back.

Storm dragged himself to Karin, her clothes stained in a pool of her own blood.

"Please, please don't die. Don't die on me." He begged as he pushed himself to his knees, cradling her head in his lap, her face still and emotionless.

He wiped her tears from her face, but they were replaced by his own. Everything had been taken from him. His friends, his sister, and the woman he loved.

He clutched her body to his as he let out all of his pain, sadness, and rage. The ground began to quake as boulder-sized rocks split from the land and shot into the sky like rockets. His eyes blazed red as he became lost in a sea of his own anguish.

"SEPHIROTH!"

The man turned to see what no other explanation could be but a demon standing before him.

The demon was easily a head taller than him, looking down at him with glowing red eyes. It looked more like a demonic knight with twin horns that curved backwards. Its body was encased in dark armor with a red tinge that gleamed where the light touched.

With an unholy roar, he slammed a fist across the man's face, creating a trench with his body.

Storm lowered his arm as he growled deep in his throat.

The ground exploded as Sephiroth burst from the trench, hovering in the air.

He wiped his mouth with his hand, seeing his own blood on it.

He looked towards the demon who was glaring back.

"So you're the descendant of that monster. Maybe you can provide some entertainment for me after all."

Storm roared as his aura erupted before he spread his wings and took off.

Sephiroth expected a frontal assault and thrust his sword into Storm when he came into reach.

The weapon struck home, stopping Storm's charge.

Sephiroth grinned.

Storm appeared behind him and with a roar, brought down both arms down on the man's head, sending him towards the ground.

Sephiroth recovered enough to fire a blast of magic that struck the demon dead on before he collided with the ground with devastating force.

The smoke cleared to reveal Storm unfazed by the blast.

Sephiroth shoved away some boulders from the crater he had made.

"Not bad, for a monster." He charged, bringing his sword down on Storm, who crossed his arms to block the strike. "But you'll have to do better than this."

Storm growled as twin blades shot from his forearms, each a meter in length.

Sephiroth let out a sound of irritation as Storm went on the offensive and the two began a dance of death at blistering speeds that one could only see the sparks when their blades clashed.

The land quaked from every impact of their weapons and canyons were cut from the sheer force of every slash.

Queen Aurora surveyed the battle from the Purification Spire.

"This place will be destroyed by those two monsters. I must send them to their own world if ours is to survive."

She raised her hands towards them as a small light streaked from them.

Storm and Sephiroth were too engrossed with their fight to notice as the beams struck them, sending them off at the speed of light.

She vanished in a flash, reappearing over the bodies of the fallen warriors.

She heard a noise and turned to see her son limping her way, fighting to stay at his feet.

"Raptor. I'm glad to see that you're alive."

The man clutched his wound as he fell to his knees beside her.

"Mother, you must... you must save them." He begged.

"Son, it is not up to me whether they live or they die. That is why I did not resurrect the King, even thought I loved him dearly."

'But Mother, you are the Sun Rey, the Bringer of all Life. It is within your power to resurrect the dead."  
She didn't respond, which angered him.

"They wouldn't be dead if they hadn't come with me! They only came to make peace with our people and you had them, including me, imprisoned by that traitor Alucard! You even went as far as to sentence them to death! Have you become so cold as to forsake them even though you are capable of bringing them back to life!"

Raptor received a slap in the face, his mother glaring at him.

"You know I'm right, because your visage hasn't shown any feelings since father died! You've already forsaken them before, do not forsake them again!"

The Queen closed her eyes as she thought about his words.

"Very well, if that is your wish." She finally said.

"Thank you." He bowed his head in gratitude.

XXXXX

The land was an abandoned, desolate place, once inhabited by countless millions, the continent Mideen now void of human life since its people were massacred by the Rey Shire.

Two beams of light pierced the sky, striking the earth just outside of the partially demolished city.

Both thought little of the change in location as they once again clashed.

Storm forced Sephiroth back, plowing through a tall building and exiting out the other side.

Sephiroth broke away and took to the air, with Storm in hot pursuit.

Sephiroth stopped and swung his sword, creating a crescent blue beam.

Storm changed course and flew into another building. The man turned to see Storm burst through the glass next to him, grabbing him in a bear hug and diving into the street.

The ground upheaved like water, knocking the surrounding buildings down like dominoes.

Storm was knocked out of the crater with incredible force, flying into the air before correcting himself.

He searched around, but the man wasn't to be seen.

"Looking for someone?"

Storm howled in pain as Sephiroth's sword cut across his back.

Storm turned to see his enemy grinning.

"Is this the best you can do?" Sephiroth asked.

Storm roared as he swung at Sephiroth, but the man deflected the strikes easily before teleporting behind Storm and slamming the hilt of his sword in the back of Storm's head.

The demon was hammered through several buildings from the blow, spraying asphalt everywhere when he crashed into the ground.

Sephiroth landed down the street and created a shockwave that ripped the ground apart on its destructive path towards Storm.

Storm retracted a blade as he raised his fist and slammed it into the ground, creating his own shockwave from the impact.

Both waves closed in and collided, causing windows to shatter from the force.

Sephiroth watched as Storm took to the air.

The demon's aura erupted with red lightning as he channeled demonic energy into his hands, and with utter ferocity, began to unleash his Hellfire Blitz.

Sephiroth retreated as the blasts vaporized where he was standing, flying low to the ground as he weaved through the streets.

Storm continued his barrage, chasing Sephiroth throughout the city, but no matter how much or how fast he threw his attacks, Sephiroth outmaneuvered and outran them with ease.

Angered, Storm flew high above the city, raised a hand and poured more power through it, creating a giant ball of black fire.

He reared it back and threw it right at his target.

The blast consumed the city, turning over half of it into ash instantly.

All that remained was a few skyscrapers and a deep black pit that seemed bottomless.

Storm turned to block a strike, but the force knocked him spinning backwards. He steadied himself and snarled at the man like a wild animal.

Sephiroth hadn't lost his grin since the fight began.

"I guess playtime is over. You did provide me with an amusing distraction, but I can't spend anymore time with you. I've got a universe to destroy, but I will honor you by killing you with my full power."

Sephiroth grabbed his sword with both hands, changing his stance as his aura began to form around him.

"This is the end, Demon."

Sephiroth disappeared before Storm's eyes to knock him straight down, driving Storm through every floor of a 70 story building.

The building collapsed as Storm rocketed from it like a bat out of hell.

Sephiroth began to send a barrage of crescent blades at Storm, who nimbly avoided everyone and phased passed them to get to Sephiroth as they sliced through buildings with ease.

Sephiroth blocked a barrage and they came locked in a ferocious battle, creating shockwaves that pounded against the ground from every clash of their swords.

During the fight, Sephiroth was steadily hitting harder with each strike, pushing Storm on the defensive.

Sephiroth swung down hard, making Storm block with both of his swords. He leaned in so that they were face-to-face.

"You might be a demon, but you fail to understand that you are fighting a god."

He grabbed Storm's face and channeled magic through his arm and fired point-blank, knocking Storm across the sky, hurtling wildly before tunneling through the ground.

Boulders erupted as Storm shot from the ground in a streak of black fire.

Sephiroth wasted no time as he flew after Storm, readying his sword to strike.

Storm roared as he did the same.

In a tremendous clash, the two were bathed in light.

As the light faded, both were facing eachother.

Blood dripped from Sephiroth's sword which was on the other side of Storm's back.

Storm's swords had missed Sephiroth's head, his arms outstretched .

His voice was in pain as his weapons snapped like twigs, falling uselessly to the ground below.

Sephiroth removed the sword from Storm's chest, who clutched the wound. He then drove a spin kick deep into Storm's abdomen, sending him soaring across the sky.

In an instant, he appeared over Storm and swung his sword, slicing through the armor on his torso.

Storm howled as the force sent him to the ground at breakneck speeds, causing him to skip repeatedly until sliding to a halt.

Storm lay unmoving, sprawled like a fallen bird.

_"Storm. Storm. Can you hear me? Storm, what happened?"_ Shouted Ifrit.

Storm finally came to.

"Ifrit?" Came his voice.

"Finally. I've been trying to reach you. I was trapped inside when you transformed. All I could do was watch as you rampaged."

"Karin, I couldn't save her."

"I know, but your rage took control of you and you nearly wiped out half of Gaia."

"Gaia?" He said in confusion.

"The Queen brought us here somehow, but that's not important. But even with your power, you've been losing this fight. This man is more of a monster than you."

"So, I can't win?"

"I'm not saying that, but remember what your sister told you. You have to have a clear mind to unleash your power. Control your anger, don't let it control you."

Sephiroth hovered high above Storm with his sword sheathed and his arms crossed.

"Now experience the power that only I possess."

He raised his hands over his head, laying his right hand on top of his left, palms up.

A small orb of yellow light began to grow from thin air to immense sizes, becoming the size of the moon.

"And so the final blow to end your pathetic life."

The great Supernova plunged towards the planet.

Ifrit sensed the strength of the spell and materialized into his fox form.

He looked up as it descended like a beast of destruction.

"There's not much time."

He stood over Storm, shielding him.

"What are you doing? You'll die too if you get hit."

"Don't worry about me. It'll take more than this to kill me, but listen. You have to believe you have the strength to win. Don't let their deaths be in vain."

The giant ball of magic struck the ground.

Ifrit took the full force for Storm, screaming as the atmosphere lit up with an explosion that covered the southern continent.

The aftermath was total obliteration. The land charred black as far as the eye could see.

Ifrit was still standing, at least til he fell over.

"Ifrit!" Storm got up and looked over his friend, who was severely wounded.

"That's all that I can do for you. You... handle the rest."

"But how can I win? He's too strong." Said Storm.

"Don't fight him like a demon. Fight him like a human."

Ifrit closed his eyes and returned to Storm.

Storm didn't know what he meant til something caught his eye.

He looked up to see a tall man with dark hair and a smile on his face.

"Kain?"

The man just turned and walked away.

"Wait! Brother! Don't go!" He cried, but Kain had disappeared.

He reached the place where he last saw his brother, all that was there was a small glimmer of something among the ash.

He knelt down and brushed the debris away to see Kain's lance lying on the ground.

It was just how he remembered it as if time never touched it. Its twin jade-colored blades reflected the light like glass, and he remembered that Kain was the only one strong enough to wield the weapon.

With a jerk, he lifted the weapon from its resting place. Just holding it made him feel stronger, as if his brother was right there with him.

"Thank you, Brother." He said as he grabbed it firmly with both hands.

"All right, Kain. Your little brother needs some help. So I'm gonna have to borrow this."

He raised the weapon over his head and brought it down on his knee, breaking it in two.

"Now, I'm gonna fight my way."

He got in his assassin stance as his aura flared around him, causing the ground to break in a spiderweb fashion.

"Sephiroth! This ends here and now!" And he blasted off like a rocket.

Sephiroth heard Storm and unsheathed his sword.

"So you refuse to die. Then lets see you survive this!"

He swung down, creating a crescent wave 10 times bigger than before.

Storm continued as he faced down the lethal attack.

He swung his blades, meeting the wave and they paused as they struggled against the other.

With one final push, Storm cut the blade in half.

Sephiroth was surprised at what just happened.

"Die, your time is over!"

"You time was over a long time ago!"

Storm instantly streaked around Sephiroth, creating 100 copies, surrounding him in a sphere of black.

Sephiroth was struck from all directions, tossing him around like a toy.

The copies flickered away, revealing Storm high above.

He tucked his wings in and dove like a falcon, blades out, as he began to spin, becoming a giant drill of black fire.

"HELL'S APOCOLYPSE!"

Sephiroth was struck and they both shot to the ground, which erupted into a dome of destruction that grew towards the sky.

The entire continent seized violently as it split apart, becoming many large islands from the impact.

Storm was kneeling over Sephiroth, both blades in the man's chest.

He pulled them out and stepped away as his armor smoked away.

Sephiroth's eyes opened as he fought to stand, using his sword to push himself to his feet.

Storm was breathing heavily, but he wasn't about to give up, raising his weapons.

Sephiroth smirked.

"Looks like I underestimated this generation. But be warned, I am eternal. I will reclaim this universe as it is rightfully mine. It's only a matter of time before I return again."

"And when that happens. I'll be there to stop you."

His chuckled as his black wing covered him and he disappeared in a burst of feathers.

Alucard's body was all that remained as he fell forward, lifeless.

Storm dropped his weapons as he lumbered away. All that remained was the pain of the loss of his friends.

"So what now? Everyone I've ever loved is dead."

_"Well you still got me." _Said Ifrit.

The beast's attempt at humor didn't help the man feel any better.

A streak of light cut across the sky, which materialized into the Highwind.

A door opened wide, revealing Karin looking down.

"Storm!"

The man couldn't believe what he saw, but at that moment, he didn't care as he smiled.

"Karin!" He shouted back.

Suddenly, with no parachute, she jumped out, her arms spread wide.

Storm's smile faded.

"What the hell are you doing!"

He ran to catch her, sliding to a halt as he caught her in his arms.

Storm fell backwards as Karin wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a deep kiss on his lips.

"Karin are you insane! And how are you..."

Karin stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"It's alright. We're okay and that's all that matters."

The Highwind landed to reveal the whole group alive and well.

As they rejoiced, Raptor and the Queen stepped out to see them.

"So Mother, can we finally end this war?" He asked.

"Yes Son, I think we can." She replied, which made Raptor glad.

"It's too bad that you and the Princess couldn't get together."  
"well I knew it wouldn't work out. I just played the part to push them together. It wouldn't be worth it if there was no competition."

"So you were playing Matchmaker. So are you saying that you're..."

"No Mother, I'm not." He quickly snapped.

"Just checking." Then she smiled.

"I'm glad to see you smile again. You're more beautiful when you do." Raptor said.

"Thank you. So what do we do from here?" She asked.

"Lets see what the future holds."

XXXXX

And so the Treaty of Peace was made between Gaia and Terra that day, ending the decade long war.

The warriors who helped bring the war to an end started to live their lives.

Shri-Lanka began assuming the position The Order once had and with the help of Karin, broke down the barriers between the levels of Dias, creating a better balance of power.

Carlos developed his skills to become the founder of a Martial Arts Dojo which quickly became one of the best among both worlds, even drawing in Terrans to learn the power of Ki.

Wedge traveled back to Wutai to continue his training under Gin.

Cid became an instructor for the Gaian Military, training pilots and improving the strength of its Navy to counter pirates.

Raptor became the Ambassador of Terra to improve relations, so he visited often.

Sakura decided to give up the life of an assassin and set out exploring the world.

She eventually discovered a long uninhabited island. At least until she found 13 Knights had been residing there.

Storm and Karin eventually married and had a big extravagant wedding that was held at Dias.

Karin had passed her title on to Admiral Stryker, who became the new King of Gaia.

Everyone had attended the affair as the Beasts who cheered when the two kissed and ran down the aisle as streamers and fireworks filled the air.

The newlyweds ran to the long limozine and they sped off to live their new lives in happiness.


End file.
